As an Army veteran, I want to speak out against the actions the Trump administration and SECDEF Pete Hegseth have enacted this month on the U.S. Military. Pete Hegseth will go down in history as a dark stain on what makes our Military honorable. He’s misled the U.S. Armed Forces with his “DEI” attacks on everyone and anyone who is not a cis white man. In direct opposition to Pride Month, he stripped the USNS Harvey Milk of its name last week. But that was just the warm-up.

Yesterday, June 6th, was the final day for transgender troops to “voluntarily” separate from active duty. Those remaining face administrative leave, uncertain discharge status, no separation pay, and repayment of enlistment bonuses.

In the keynote for Special Operations Forces Week back in May, Hegseth said

“Our combat formations don't need to look like Harvard University. They need to look like killers, trained and skilled and prepared. The standards need to be high, and they need to be gender neutral, so that if you can do the job, you're in that formation and if you can't, you are not.”

Yet with no evidence shown that transgender troops currently serving have been unable to meet the color blind, gender blind standards Hegseth has so clearly indicated should be the only measurement for duty fitness, they have been ordered to self-identify for the purge. Upheld as constitutional by the conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court, Hegseth moved forward with the dismissals.

“Everything starts and ends with warriors, from training to the battlefield. We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses, we're done with that shit [applause] [cheering],” Hegseth announced.

While the purge will impact a small number of troops, less than 1%, with estimates ranging between one thousand and four thousand, for those impacted, the move is devastating. They’ve fought hard to earn their slots, earn their place and acceptance, and with no reason other than hatred, they are being stripped of their livelihood.

Just a few notable transgender troops to watch for in the fight, though there are many:

There’s Col Bree Fram, (on Substack) who’s served 22 years in the military and bid farewell to it yesterday with dignity:

We will continue to serve. We will continue to lead. We will continue to prove—every single day—that we meet the high standards of the military, that the arguments about our capability and readiness used to justify this policy are based on false premises, that we belong.

Chief Petty Officer Ryan Goodell whom I watched in an interview on PBS News on Friday:

“The Navy colors are blue and gold, and that's all you see. Realizing and pursuing my truth has made me more mentally stable. My depression is gone. I'm a better leader. I can think more clearly, I don't have those nagging self-doubt moments anymore. I know who I am, and I lead very effectively. And that's why, in part, I was chosen to be a chief petty officer.”

As well as 2nd Lt. Nicolas Talbott from that same interview:

Nobody that I have served with thus far has known that I am transgender unless I have told them or they have seen it posted on the Internet somewhere.

At the end of the day, what our fellow service members care about is whether or not we can put on our uniforms and perform our duties.

As Retired General Stanley McChrystal said on Face the Nation in May in support of diversity,

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth s focus on DEI in the military is a distraction and not helpful. The idea that everybody s got to look a certain way, got to have biceps of a certain size, theres got to be a male, straight, all these things, is not my experience ..”

Gen McChrystal went on to explain that modern warfare has changed, and in the event of a draft, even people with disabilities could serve. I would agree wholeheartedly. We are living in a time when drones operated remotely can wipe out a large segment of Russian bombers. There is a place in the military for almost anyone who is called to serve in some capacity. The military is no longer just humping a ruck. It’s high tech and requires a diversity of skills.

Let me close by using Hegseth’s own narrow-minded words against him from that same speech, Special Forces Week:

“Our standards will be high and in combat formations, they will be gender neutral because the weight of a 155 round or a rucksack or a human being doesn't care if you're a man or a woman.”

From my own experience, I can attest that overall, troops don’t care if the person next to them is a man or a woman. They just want someone they can rely on who can do the job they’ve been assigned. Hegseth has once again chosen bigotry over preparedness. He’s left holes where qualified transgender troops served honorably and with dignity. With every action, he’s making our military weaker than he found it.

Hegseth and Trump must go. Our National Security and the remaining strength of our Nation depend on it. These moves are part of a larger agenda—one that systematically strips our military of thinkers and leaders willing to use their minds, speak up, and hold firm to defending the Constitution. Every month, more leaders and troops who oppose this Administration are purged. As predicted, summer protests are resulting in chaos and violence. While the use of the National Guard to maintain order is lawful, we’re in the early stages of a transition toward a larger crackdown. When Trump eventually enacts Martial Law, turning our active duty military on our citizens protesting unlawful agendas, it’s Hegseth job to ensure there’s no one left who’s willing to dissent.

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