The Army has decided to stop trying to expel Lt. Steve May from the Reserves for violation of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The announcement came Jan. 15, after May's attorney Christopher Wolf had met with White House chief of staff John Podesta and Pentagon officials to discuss the case.
"This is precedent setting," said May when reached at his home only hours after the announcement. "Never before has the military dropped a case and allowed a service member to complete his normal service."
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bill Wheelehan tried to downplay the importance of the decision. He said that May's term of service expires on May 11, it would take several months to process him out, and May agreed not to reenlist.
May was not buying the spin. He said that technically, officers do not reenlist, they are always available for service even after they retire. That was how he was called back to the Reserves, he did not reenlist. Furthermore, the Pentagon has not hesitated to kick out soldiers who were only months away from vesting 20-year retirement benefits.
C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) , was "thrilled for Steve May. I hope that this is tacit recognition by the Army that they should have never pursued him in the first place." But he said, "The jury is still out" as to what the decision means for other service members.
Perhaps the Army recognized that it had a weak case in prosecuting May based on statements that he made in the course of his work as an Arizona state legislator and prior to being called back into the Reserves.
"It is unfortunate that we have to bring so many resources to bear to get the Army just to do what they should have done in the first place," said Osburn. He suggested that the White House acted when the matter "was approaching the eleventh hour" because it was deferring to the chain of command, "wanting to get things resolved at the lowest level."
"I think that the President wanted to make a statement," said May. "He came in dealing with gays in the military and he is leaving with gays in the military."
"I hope that other service members will be able to use it in some respect," he said. "I hope that my story will help to educate the American public so that they will demand a change in the law from Congress."
Steve May could lead that fight as a Member of Congress just two years from now. Arizona gains two additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the 2000 census, and May has a good shot at being elected. He was named chairman of the Ways and Means Committee of the state assembly earlier this month. That should enhance his influence.
