Gay Airman Anthony Loverde, Discharged Under DADT, To Return To Active Duty

Staff Sergeant Anthony Loverde, an airman discharged for violating “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” in 2008, will return to active duty in the Air Force.

The nation's largest legal group advocating on behalf of LGBT troops, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), and the law firm Morrison & Foerster announced on Tuesday that their client would return to the Air Force in May and be assigned to the 19^th Operations Squadron at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas.

The reinstatement makes Loverde the second previously discharged gay service member to return to active duty following the September 2011 repeal of DADT, the policy which banned gay and bisexual troops from serving openly.

“I am honored and humbled to return to the service of my country and the job I love,” Loverde said in a statement. “I am grateful to my legal team and all those in the armed forces who helped to facilitate this reinstatement. I am eager to take the oath and get to work.”

In Almy v. U.S., SLDN challenged the constitutionality of three plaintiffs' discharges under DADT and sought their reinstatement to active duty. Navy Petty Officer 2^nd Class Jase Daniels was reinstated under a resolution reached in December. A resolution is expected soon on behalf of a third plaintiff, former Air Force Major Mike Almy.

“This historic reinstatement again reminds us that today's military is a welcoming place for qualified patriots whose careers were cut short by the unjust 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law. This victory is unique because it is a reinstatement – not just a reentry – meaning that Sergeant Loverde will return to his previous rank and be able to continue his career as if it had never been interrupted. As a nation, we can never restore what was fully lost by this service member and many like him as a result of DADT, but at SLDN we are working day and night to ensure that those who wish to serve their country again may do so on active duty, in the reserves, or in the guard,” said SLDN Legal Director David McKean.

Loverde was discharged seven years after entering the Air Force at the age of 20. Following his discharge, he was hired by a military contractor to do largely the same job of calibrating weapons systems he had done in the Air Force.