SAN DIEGO (AP) - At least three service members discharged for being gay have begun a re-enlistment process while gay rights

groups continue to tell service members to avoid revealing that they are gay.

It all stems from a judge's refusal to stay her ban on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The decision will be appealed but the Pentagon has directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation's history.

The top-level guidance issued to recruiting commands yesterday marked a significant change in an institution long resistant and sometimes hostile to gays.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith says recruiters have been told to inform potential recruits that the moratorium on enforcement could be reversed at any time, if the ruling is appealed or the court grants a stay.