Board recommends discharge of gay officer

SYRACUSE, N.Y., June 30 (UPI) -- A military board recommended Tuesday that Lt. Dan Choi be dismissed from the New York National Guard because he is openly gay.

Choi, who speaks Arabic and served for 15 months in Iraq as a member of the 10th Mountain Division, told a news conference after learning of the board action that he plans to continue his fight to stay in the military, The Syracuse Post-Standard reported. The four officers on the board made their decision after an all-day closed hearing at Hancock Air Base in Syracuse.

"Today was a setback for me," Choi said. "I got in trouble for saying three words. 'I am gay.'"

Lt. Gen. Thomas Miller, commander of the First Army Division, and Gen. Craig McKinley, who heads the National Guard Bureau, can accept or reject the board recommendation. Choi violated the "don't ask, don't tell" policy put in place by President Bill Clinton and Congress in 1994.

President Obama said Monday he has asked the Defense Department to develop plans for opening the military to open homosexuals. Most European countries now allow gays to serve.