Commander Emily Shilling has been a combat pilot in the U.S. Navy for nearly 20 years and has more than 60 missions. Still, fighter pilots are hard to find. Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will withdraw from the shilling. Many others, such as former Navy Seal Kristin Beck, who worked for 20 years in the Navy Special War, including the Seals' Sixth Team. She won the Bronze Star with the Battle “V” (Defense Functional Service Medal and Purple Heart Medal).
Shilling and Baker are heroes whose military will never come back, and the absence of service members like them will make America ready, endanger American troops, and hurt recruitment efforts.
But these people are not enough to serve Trump, who has only banned trans service members for the second time. Joe Biden reversed his first efforts. This time, the Supreme Court allowed the injunction to take effect because the matter meandered through the court. Trump ally Barry Moore (R-Ala.) proposed legislation to make Trump's executive order codified and ensure that no Democratic president can revoke the damage he caused.
Hegseth's service can never be compared to Shilling or Beck, although Hegseth likes to pretend he is a naval seal as he follows them shakyly during special events around the country. Trump never served for a day in his life. That's why it's so strange for me and many others that they insist on preventing transgender forces (before his term ended, gay Americans) from serving in the armed forces.
Trump’s disdain and disrespect for veterans will be historically considered reprehensible, and Moore will also vote against the bipartisan agreement law, which expands health care and legislation for millions of veterans and many other bipartisan veterans.
Trans Americans serve with honor - fight areas around the globe from the deck of the aircraft carrier. They carry out missions, lead teams, and complete the same rigorous training as everyone else in the military.
Now, Trump and Heggs are reportedly planning to direct military commanders to identify transgender or gender irritable troops so they can undergo medical examinations and then be cleared.
This policy is a moral failure and will also be a logistical failure. During the recruitment crisis, eliminating thousands of trained service members can make us weaker, not stronger. Forced skilled troops, pilots, linguists, mechanics, medical staff, because they seek medically necessary care or live truly does not protect national security. It ruined it.
That's not ready. It's about hatred. If Trump cares about military readiness, he will invest in veterans’ programs and enhance the rewards of services rather than demolishing the Department of Veterans Affairs, as Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency have already been done.
Now, many trans service members will have to close themselves in fear. They will be forced to identify quickly. If they haven't figured it out yet, the rest of the services will be minefields. Any military leader will tell you that fear is incapable of leading, which reduces readiness and damages combat effectiveness. If only Trump, Musk or Heggs actually had military knowledge, or cared about commanding and leadership.
If you want to know what the long-term strategy is, it’s simple: expel trans Americans from public life, at a time, an institution - and clear military leaders so they can’t stop it. It starts with the army and is always with the authoritarians. Then there are health care, education, civil servants. The goal is to make trans people invisible. But that won't stop. Anyone who stands apart will be removed from the military, just as Heggs and Trump are removing the contributions of women, minorities, people of color and gay Americans from official military history, the Supreme Court and federal law cannot easily intervene.
Trump’s policies are dangerous, and anyone who supports his whitewashing of our army is accomplice. These changes will narrow down the number of qualified service members and build the U.S. military alone, weaken our troops, sabotage our preparations, and put us at a disadvantage. That is exactly the kind that military autocrats, dictators and religious extremists want to see.
We can't wait for the next election to resolve this issue. We need voices from inside and outside the army to speak out, saying: It's enough. We will not clear the army. We won't do gender washes, deformations, gays - wash or paint our team. We will fight back with truth, honor and faith that our strength stems from our diversity, not by no means, we will fight back with the attitude of truth.