Choi Discharged for DADT
Everybody’s favorite Don’t Ask Don’t Tell attention-whore Lt. Dan Choi was discharged from the National Guard today. From ABC News:
Lt. Dan Choi has been discharged from the Army National Guard. The Iraq war veteran became one of the most outspoken critics of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy on homosexuals in the military after outing himself as a gay soldier on national television.
Choi told ABC News that his battalion commander called him Thursday morning to notify him of his honorable discharge under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.
In a statement he said, “After 11 years since beginning my journey at West Point and after 17 months of serving openly as an infantry officer this is both an infuriating and painful announcement.”
I’ve stated before on this site that I think it is time to make changes DADT (in a reasonable and logical manner however). However, Lt. Choi’s conduct since he outed himself on the The Rachel Maddow has been completely unbecoming of an officer and I don’t think he deserved that honorable discharge. In many ways, this is what he wanted. He wanted to be a martyr for gay rights and most importantly he wanted the attention. He will probably get both.
Added Sporkmaster: Seems he is likes the feel of steel. He was recently arrested today with eleven other people for chaining himself to the White House gate, again.
Category: Military issues
I’m pretty sure that when he was going through Woo Poo, they explained the rules to him. If he didn’t like the rules, he should have GTFO.
For those of the gay persuasion, you need to know BEFORE you go in that you simply can’t do everything you could before you raised your hand and promised to follow the rules.
Of course, that same rule applies to everyone, gay or not.
As always, if you don’t like the rules…. then stay the hell out. But don’t whine, bitch or moan when the rules you’ve taken an oath to obey are enfforced….mmmmmmkay?
Gay, first; soldier, whenever it supports that. Watch, he’s squeeking about this and hittin’ on Matthis at IVAW next.
Woo Poo…ha! I gotta use that one next time.
When I read the article yesterday, I noticed that the military discharged him and then told Choi a few weeks later that he was discharged. It’s hard to find someone to support in this incident. It seems that everyone is a coward.
@Hinton: wish I could concur. The length, depth, width and substantial pocketbooks of the LGBT lobby will ensure that they are gay first and soldiers second.
Well, Jonn, to be honest, maybe they couldn’t find him. Chained to the WH fence should have been the first place they looked.
Andonie had to rid the 69th of its albatross.
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#2
If you need to ask that question you couldn’t possibly understand the answer, so I for one won’t bother directing one to you. Cheers.
“Don’t touch that, it’s really hot; you’ll get burnt.” “Don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot.” “Don’t drive fast on the ice or you’ll lose control.” “Follow the DADT policies or you will be kicked out.”
I think this is all pretty straightforward. Cause–>effect, warnings given beforehand.
Duh.
I am a little irritated that they get honorable discharges. It has nothing to do with being gay, one of my best troops was gay. He kept his private life private, so no problem as he did not violate any rules.
There is a policy in place and if you knowingly and willingly violate it then you deserve at best a general discharge. By violating the policy, you violate multiple sections of the UMCJ and the oath you swore. This is especially true for the officer class.
You are a soldier and your personal wishes do not come into play at all. The only consideation is what is the best for the service. This is made known to you when you join, thus you should be made to pay the price for violating the rules you chose to break.
Choi was a Lt. Col. He KNEW the rules. He’s just throwing himelf on the sword for LGBT martyrdom, that’s all. He should have gotten a bad conduct or dishonorable for violating his oath as an officer. It’s nothing to do with his actually being gay. It’s all about trying to legislate change through the courts.
Gary,
Your troop was violating the rules and as such also should have been discharged. The law doesn’t require he keep his private life private, it requires he have NO private life to keep private.
That point leads me to think not all gay people really understand what the policy requires if not all straight people know either.
That being said Choi was making a political statement and certainly had to expect he would be booted. He isn’t crying about it.
I have become aquainted with a young gentleman that happens to be gay, signed up for the military (infantry), but was dropped in AIT due to a previously unknown physical problem. He was understandably bummed about it, however, I told him that at least he wanted to serve. He never disclosed his sexual preference and was willing to keep it wuiet in order to serve. He is on the other end of the spectrum of Choi.
J,
First of all the current policy is don’t ask don’t tell. That boils down to, I don’t care that you are gay but keep your private life private.
Secondly, of course he isn’t crying about it. He got what he wanted, to make a political statement with no reprecussions. A honorable discharge has no negative effects on his life. But there is a problem intrinsic to that. He and plenty of time to reflect on the decision to become an officer in the Army. So, there in lies the problem.
He violated the policies of the organization he willing became a part of (at great expense to the organization and the taxpayer). He put himself above the good of a group that demands and requires selflessness. This policy is not something that was sprung on him after his decision to become a soldier.
I say good riddance to him. He has shown that he is not able to put others first, hence when it came time to make a tough decision he likely would have made the one best for himself and not those he had been entrusted to lead.
[…] and chained to the White House fence. Here is my post from March 2010 and the announcement of his discharge in July 2010. I don’t why he’s trying to rewrite […]