Margaret Witt's idea of playtime was a bit unusual for a girl growing up in the early '70s:

Dressed in a military uniform, she bandaged "wounded soldier" playmates, just like her heroines, Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, had actually done in wartime.

"They had that little something extra. And I wanted to be like them," Witt said recently in explaining why she joined the Air Force 22 years ago. "I wanted to be all I could be. And I wanted to have not a job but an adventure."

In her real-life job as a military flight nurse, Witt quickly proved to be an extraordinarily talented leader. The Air Force featured her in recruitment materials for more than a decade.

But in 2004, Maj. Witt was told she was being investigated over an allegation that she had been in a committed relationship with a civilian woman from 1997 to 2003.

The investigation led to her discharge, but also to a new opportunity to serve our country — by fighting the Don't Ask, Don't Tell gay ban.

She won a groundbreaking ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the military can't keep doing assembly-line discharges. Instead, it must prove that the targeted gay servicemember — specifically Witt — actually undermines morale or unit cohesion.

The high-stakes case is headed toward what could be a dramatic moment: The military — represented by the Justice Department — must soon decide whether to ask the Supreme Court to step in.

If the top court, which has long ducked gays in the military cases, doesn't get involved, the next step will be a federal district court trial in which the military must prove that Witt's lesbian relationship hurt military readiness.

"It is the first time that the military has been told, 'You have to show cause as to why it is that Maj. Witt's presence in the military will undermine morale and discipline in such a way that it will do harm to the military. And we know that they can't do that," retired Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, another gay pathbreaker, declared at a recent dinner where Witt was honored.

Witt went to great lengths to keep her military colleagues from knowing she was gay: She and her then-partner lived across the state of Washington from her base.

But, judging from comments from Air Force personnel who served alongside Witt, they wouldn't have cared anyway. In legal documents, they said that what hurt morale was seeing her get booted out.

Maj. Faith Mueller said of Witt, "She plays an important role in ensuring the good order, morale and cohesion of our unit. ... I can say with confidence that her presence in the U.S. Air Force greatly enhances our squadron's combat efficiency and readiness."

That kind of wholehearted support from heterosexuals in the military contributed to the especially hopeful feeling of this year's annual dinner of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the group working to end Don't Ask.

In accepting SLDN's Courage Award, Witt beautifully summed up why the ban can't pass close inspection: "As a flight nurse and operating room nurse, no one asked me what my sexual orientation was," she said. "They were just glad to see me."

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues. To find out more about Deb Price and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.