Lieutenant Dan Choi's fight to remain in the Army National Guard faced a serious setback Tuesday when a military panel recommended that he should be discharged for publicly announcing he's gay, the AP reported.

The four member panel known as the Federal Recognition Board deliberated four hours before handing down it's recommendation.

The Army fired Choi in May after the Iraq veteran appeared on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show to promote Knights Out, the nascent West Point graduate group that lobbies against the military's ban on open gay service.

The twenty-eight-year-old received his discharge notification from the Army National Guard on May 6.

“This is to inform you that sufficient basis exists to initiate action for withdrawal of federal recognition in the Army National Guard for moral or professional dereliction. … Specifically, you admitted publicly that you are a homosexual, which constitutes homosexual conduct. … Your actions negatively affected the good order and discipline of the New York Army National Guard,” the notification states.

On Tuesday, Choi, an Arab linguist, told the AP the board's recommendation amounted to firing him “for nothing more than telling the truth about who I am.”

However, the board's recommendation must be approved by the First Army commander and the chief of the Nation Guard Bureau. Should they agree with the panel, Choi will be discharged.

Candidate Obama promised to repeal “don't ask, don't tell,” the law that prescribes discharge for gay and lesbian soldiers who do not remain closeted or celibate, calling it a “mistake.”

At a White House LGBT reception Monday, Obama renewed his pledge to repeal the law, but asked for patience, and said he was duty bound to enforce the law.

“The military has no choice but to follow it,” New York Army National Guard Spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Fanning said. “We don't pick and choose what regulations to enforce.”

While Choi's military discharge has attracted national attention, he's not alone: The military has quietly fired 265 gay and lesbian service members under Obama's watch, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that lobbies against “don't ask, don't tell.”