WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A major dismissed under the "don't ask, don't tell" law barring openly gay people from U.S. military service will be reinstated, a civil liberties group said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented U.S. Air Force Maj. Margaret Witt in her four-year battle, announced her reinstatement Tuesday, CNN reported.
In September, the U.S. District Court for Western Washington ordered the Air Force to reinstate Witt, a decorated flight nurse, ruling Witt's sexual orientation does not negatively impact unit morale or cohesion.
The Justice Department filed an appeal Tuesday, but is not seeking to stay the order, CNN said.
"I am thrilled to be able to serve in the Air Force again," Witt, whose 19-year Air Force career includes service in the Persian Gulf, said in statement Tuesday. "The men and women in the unit are like family members to me, and I've been waiting a long time to rejoin them."
Witt joined the Air Force in 1989. She was a reserve flight nurse at a base in Washington state in 2004 when a local man reported she had a sexual relationship with his wife, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Witt was discharged in 2006.
The Chronicle said Witt is the first service member to successfully challenge her dismissal under the 1993 law. President Obama opposes the law and asked Congress to repeal it, but is defending it in court until the legislative process is complete.
