Imagine graduating from Penn State and finding a job you love. You excel at your position, move up the ranks quickly and you're respected and applauded by your coworkers and your bosses. Now imagine, in one swift decision, all of this is taken away from you because your bosses disapprove of one aspect of your personal life. Your bosses don't like that you're gay -- so they give you the boot. Sounds a little discriminatory doesn't it?

Well, this discrimination is why hundreds of gay military personnel have been harboring the secret of their sexual orientation since the "Don't ask, don't tell" U.S. military policy was implemented in the early 1990s.

Recently, Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, who was one of the first Americans to be injured in Iraq, stepped out of the closet, re-igniting the debate on how gays should be treated in the military. Alva is a decorated soldier for his duty in Iraq and an example of an American hero. But had it been known that he was gay when he first joined the military, he would have been discharged immediately.

The same is true with thousands of personnel, includuing crucially important Arabic translators. The truth of the matter is that valuable military men and women who are dedicated to fighting for their country and who have spent time and money aquiring the skills the military needs are being discharged, without question, because of their sexual orientation. In any other realm of our "democratic" society this would be an outrage, and lawsuits would be brought against the employer.

According to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and 365gay.com, between 1994 and 2005 about 11,000 gay personnel were fired from the Coast Guard, the Marines, the Navy, the Army and the Air Force. In 2005 alone, an average of two servicemembers a day were discharged from military branches.

As a country we've faced military discrimination issues like this in our past. Buffalo Soldiers experienced racism from their fellow troops during the Indian Wars. During World War I and World War II, blacks were segregated into separate units. President Truman only desegregated these military units after the famous Tuskagee Airmen and other black units fought bravely, discounting any misconceived notions that they were not worthy of fighting alongside their white peers.

We've seen discrimination in our military in the past, and we've worked through it. Gay military men and women can provide our country with valuable experience and knowledge, and we must work through injustice and prejudice to ensure that they do so.

These brave men and women are willing to fight and die for our country, and that alone should garner enough respect from other military personnel, no matter what their sexual orientation is.