World
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Gay military rights advocate Lt. Dan Choi has been called back into drill duty, he told The Advocate in a phone interview Tuesday. Photographer Jeff Sheng, who recently turned his lens on active gay and lesbian service members for a book about "don't ask, don't tell," originally reported the news on Bilerico.com.
Choi was scheduled to appear at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Creating Change conference over the weekend but instead rejoined his unit. Choi said his commander called him personally, asking him to return.
Choi told The Advocate that he felt welcomed back by his fellow guardsmen in his infantry unit.
"Initially, I sensed a feeling of territorialism," he said. "They were like, 'That's right, he came back to us!'"
Even though Choi faced an Army National Guard committee in June -- the board recommended he be discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" -- his commanding officer was highly supportive of the Arabic translator and West Point graduate.
"The paperwork has been floating around in the Pentagon very slowly," Choi said. "Usually people wait six or seven days for their discharge. Meanwhile I'm waiting for months to hear back."
Since his hearing in June, Choi hasn't been able to perform drills with his unit -- he said he's been substituting by doing those routines on the side. He has not been discharged, however. Now that he is back, he has been spending time "shooting rifles and doing all of the regular drill exercises."
"It felt good to just put away a lot of the past year," he said, also comparing his return to that of a Thanksgiving gathering. "Obviously there were soldiers following everything I was doing, or there were others who didn't have a clue."
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
George Santos's latest money-making plot? Reviving his drag persona, Kitara Ravache
April 29 2024 5:12 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedHow did the Biden administration just make health care fairer for LGBTQ+ people?
April 29 2024 1:54 PM
Candace Parker, queer WNBA legend, is retiring 'privately with the ones I love'
April 29 2024 12:42 PM
Tennessee parents beg judge not to release school shooter’s journals publicly
April 29 2024 11:58 AM
12 photos exploring the lives of Thailand’s Ladyboy community
April 29 2024 11:55 AM