The Air Force announced Monday it will
discharge a lesbian officer after all, the Los Angeles Times
reported.
The ruling is a reversal of an earlier
decision not to fire Lt. Robin R. Chaurasiya after she openly
declared she was gay.
Last month, Chaurasiya was not fired
under the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy that
prescribes discharge for gay troops who do not remain celibate or
closeted because, the Air Force said, she was attempting to avoid
military service.
She then spoke to the media about the
decision.
General Raymond E. Johns Jr. reversed
the decision, and recommended Chaurasiya be honorably discharged.
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley will make a final decision.
“I am kind of heartbroken,” she
told the paper. “I felt my situation was hinting at changes. I
really thought I would be able to lead the way for a more equal
military.”
According to Chaurasiya, the Air Force
dismissed a complaint from a male former officer she once dated who
told her commanding officer that she was a lesbian. After the
incident, she decided to announce she was a lesbian.
She then entered into a civil union
with her partner in New Hampshire last December.
Chaurasiya said she would return to
Chicago after she is discharged.