Military Ins and Outs

The Pentagon ponders its options after a court orders the reinstatement of a gay National Guard colonel

Some would suggest it was a silly question to bother her with, at this stage in a brilliant career; a little like pestering a star athlete who has led his team to a brace of championships about his religious preference. National Guard Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer had earned a Bronze Star for supervising a hospital during the Vietnam War; in 1985 the Veterans Administration named her Nurse of the Year over 34,000 other candidates; and most recently, she had served as chief nurse of the Washington National Guard. But somebody's curiosity got the better of him: during a security clearance in 1989...

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