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- THE WEEK, Page 17NATIONOut, and in Uniform
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- A Navy sailor fights the military's ban on gays and gets his
- post back
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- If you're out of the closet, you're out of the service. For
- 50 years, that has been the firm rule of the U.S. military. But
- the day after Veterans Day, following a bitter court battle,
- Petty Officer Keith Meinhold managed to regain his Navy job at
- Moffett Field Naval Air Station in Mountain View, California. The
- 12-year veteran had been discharged in August after announcing
- he was gay on national TV. When U.S. District Judge Terry J.
- Hatter Jr. ordered the Navy to take Meinhold back the first
- time, the Navy balked. But after Hatter reaffirmed his order,
- Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean O'Keefe decided to comply.
- Meinhold's reinstatement is temporary, pending the outcome of a
- trial on his challenge to the Pentagon's ban on gays.
- Meanwhile, in his press conference Thursday, President-elect
- Clinton reiterated his pledge to end the military's ban,
- although he first plans to "consult with a lot of people."
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