Military to Dan Choi: You Owe Us $2,500

After DADT discharge, he's told to pony up 'unearned portion of bonus'
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 28, 2011 8:02 AM CST
Military to Dan Choi: You Owe Us $2,500
Lt. Dan Choi in front of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010, moments before he handcuffed himself to the fence of the White House during a protest for gay-rights.   (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

You'd think that Lt. Dan Choi would be the one looking for payback. But after being discharged from the military under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, it's the military that wants him to pony up—to the tune of $2,500, reports the Huffington Post. The Defense Department sent Choi a letter on Dec. 20, saying he owned the government for "unearned portion of your enlistment or reenlistment bonus." And Choi isn't having any of it, tweeting yesterday, "I refuse to pay a cent."

Choi was paid a $10,000 bonus for enlisting in the National Guard for three years in 2008, and owes $2,500 for failing "to satisfactorily complete that assigned term," said a military spokesman. "He signed it, like everybody does." But for Choi, his involuntary discharge came from an unethical policy, so he should not have to repay that money. "It would be easy to pay the $2,500 bill and be swiftly done with this diseased chapter of my life," he wrote in a letter to President Obama. "My obligations to take a stand, knowing all the continued consequences of my violations, are clear. I refuse to pay your claim." (More Dan Choi stories.)

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