Stand with the Troops That Break The Mold
What is happening in our world when military commanders get to decide who is allowed to serve—or who is entitled to the benefits of service—based solely on physical appearance? Due to Trump’s ban on transgender troops, Commanders are tasked with maintaining a standard of “readiness” for troops, which includes strict grooming and uniform rules that enforce a binary view of gender: only biological male or female, with no allowance for variation. Service members who do not fit this mold are flagged as unready, a designation that can cut off their benefits, end housing and child care, terminate healthcare coverage, and destroy careers they’ve built over years of service. It could also prevent someone who is wanting to serve in the military, the option of getting accepted when you’ve had a gender dysphoria diagnosis is null and void.
If civilian employment is protected by nondiscrimination policies, why is the military able to bypass these safeguards? The answer lies in the Department of Defense (DoD), run by the Secretary of Defense—a presidential appointee. Under the Constitution, control of the military is the responsibility of the President, not the public. This means Americans cannot vote to protect the very troops who serve to protect them, leaving service members vulnerable to policies that can abruptly erase their careers and livelihoods.
What initially seems like a routine medical check can quickly turn into a life-altering event for transgender troops. Once the conversation shifts to gender identity, someone may be outed, their medical history reviewed, and their appearance requirements abruptly changed to match their sex assigned at birth. For trans women, this could mean cutting their hair short; for trans men, revoking binders and wearing women’s uniforms. Failure to comply results in a stark choice: Accept a voluntary separation within 30 days, or face involuntary separation at the end of the month.
The shock comes in the framing of these encounters as “readiness meetings.” Service members often have no warning that these sessions are actually evaluating whether they can continue serving, rather than checking general fitness or medical readiness. The real issue is not about operational performance, but rather a commander’s power to override peer acceptance. People who believed they had a place in the military can be removed from their positions—and essentially their lives—based solely on a commander outing them and taking action.
Now, service members are effectively forced to disclose their identity, only to have it used against them to sabotage their chances at equal treatment and opportunity. That’s why as civilians we need to back the Fit to Serve Act to protect the people protecting us so take action by signing the petitions hosted by Human Rights Campaign, All Out, Resistbot, or the countless others out there, now is the time to ban together to support our community.
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