Lesbian former cadet won't be readmitted

ALBANY -- A lesbian former cadet who left West Point saying she couldn't live a lie was rejected for readmission yesterday because of the lingering military ban on gays and said she is giving up on graduating from the academy.

Katherine Miller said she plans to graduate from Yale University, where she is now, and join the military through officer candidate school.

"Although I am deeply saddened that I will not be readmitted to West Point, I understand and respect the decision" said Miller 21, from Findlay, Ohio.

She said that although she had always wanted to serve alongside her comrades as an equal, "I harbor no resentment toward the military and I look forward to the day they deem it appropriate for me to put the uniform back on."

Miller left West Point last year and soon became a public face of the effort to repeal the policy known as "don't ask, don't tell." But she missed the academy and applied as the government moved to repeal.

West Point issued a statement explaining that it couldn't accept Miller because of the still-existing ban, but hinting that re-entry wouldn't be a problem for her in the future.

Still, the decision highlights activists' complaints that the Pentagon's too-deliberate process is holding things up for gays who want to serve. -- AP