San Diego - Former Air Force officer Michael Almy's five-year battle to get back into the military after being discharged for being gay is still far from over despite the end of the policy that halted the decorated war veteran's 13-year career and left him curled up on his bathroom floor, crying.

The repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" coincides with the most competitive time in recent history to get into the military because of the sluggish economy, and the Defense Department says it has no plans to give priority to those discharged for being gay, even if they still meet the military's age limits, fitness standards and cutoffs for time out of service.

Many, like Almy, a 41-year-old former Air Force major, see the only way back to active-duty as being through the courts. He and two other discharged officers - one from the Air Force officer and one from the Navy - are suing the Justice Department to demand they be reinstated, and they hope a federal appeals court will help their efforts by upholding a lower court ruling last year that declared the law unconstitutional.

Activists believe if the ruling stands it could open the legal doors for a class-action suit or settlement for many of the nearly 14,000 military members discharged under the nearly 18-year-old policy.

"The sad truth is repeal really does nothing for people thrown out of the military," Almy said.

"There is no restitution, no reparations, no special personnel process to help those to get back in the military who were thrown out."

Almy said he never admitted to the military he was gay, but was discharged under the policy in 2006 after a service member snooped through his emails on a government-issued computer in Iraq when Almy's deployment there ended.

Almy testified for the Log Cabin Republicans at a trial last year. U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips temporarily halted the policy after the trial, declaring the law violated the constitutional free speech and due process rights of gay military members.

Shortly before being honorably discharged, Almy was recognized as one of the top officers in the Air Force for his leadership skills in running an exemplary unit that helped maintain control over the vast majority of Iraq's air space during the war.

Even after his discharge, his wing commander formally recommended to the Air Force promotion board that he be promoted to lieutenant colonel, ahead of his peers, because of his outstanding performance, according to his testimony under oath.

Almy estimates his discharge cost him $1.5 million in retirement benefits, the amount he says he would have received if he had been allowed to complete his 20 years in the service.

Dan Woods, an attorney for the Log Cabin Republicans, said if the lower court ruling is upheld by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals it could bolster the cases of thousands of former service members, like Almy, who "are still suffering the collateral consequences of being discharged under this unconstitutional law."

Woods said the Obama administration wants his case dismissed because it does not want "to deal with some 14,000 people making claims for back pay and reinstatement. That's really what it's about."