I learned any number of things in my time at West Point; the rigorous physical discipline I would need in my time as an Officer in Iraq, the foundation of knowledge in Arabic and environmental engineering that would help me contribute to the military even outside a war zone, and most importantly, the fundamental fact that on any battlefield, in any combat zone, your best strategy is to be proactive, not reactive. When you’re fighting for your life, sitting back and waiting to be attacked is not an option. Battles have to be fought and won; if we could just wait for them to be handed to us, we wouldn’t be fighting in the first place.

This last lesson has as many implications in civilian life as it does in the military, and as a gay officer, I feel there is one specific arena today where it is most apt: namely, the battle to overturn discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals.

I have spent my life in the army fighting for what I believe is right, and to uphold the American dream both at home and abroad. For me, that has meant fighting, actively, against the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The sorts of skills I learned at West Point, how to quickly analyze and react to a situation, make a split-second decision when necessary, and, outside the combat zone, develop lasting positive relationships with the Arab people and the world environment, have never had anything to do with my sexual orientation. There is no reason, then, that I should be forced to hide it.

Read the rest of Lt. Dan Choi’s Huffington Post article here.