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After hearing my commander in chief send a message with a timeline (to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell), I am hopeful that by year’s end I can continue translating Arabic and leading troops without having to lie. But he did not send a clear message on how. So until I get concrete evidence that I will not be fired, my job just like thousands in America, is in jeopardy.

I was moved by the entire speech, I am stirred to hear his national security points: to fight terror, the urgency of finishing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and especially helping to rescue and rebuild Haiti. It was a call to action.
 
Some people heard: ‘Jobs Jobs Jobs.’ I heard ‘Values, Responsbility, Duty.’

-Lt. Dan Choi

Follow Lt. Choi on twitter @ltdanchoi

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Bio

On March 19, 2009, Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq veteran fluent in Arabic, announced that he was gay on The Rachel Maddow Show. Because of three words – “I am gay” – Lt. Choi’s life changed forever. Despite his extreme value as an Arabic speaker able to communicate quickly and clearly with the Iraqi people, one month after his announcement Lt. Dan Choi was notified that the Army had begun discharge proceedings against him. He was one of only eight soldiers from his graduating class who majored in Arabic.