Ex-Navy Secretary: Trump's Trans Military Purge Is Rushed, Brutal

[Jessica_Rose]

Ex-Navy Secretary: Trump's Trans Military Purge Is Rushed, Brutal | Opinion

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ex-navy-secretary-trump-s-trans-military-purge-is-rushed-brutal-opinion/ar-AA1B5mgt?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=53f75b0a42e448e7ed2523bdc548bf19&ei=98

Opinion by Carlos Del Toro (17 March 2025)

On January 27, 2025, with the stroke of a pen, thousands of military careers were slated for termination. That was the day President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender individuals from serving in the military. This order was not only severe in its scope but alarmingly rushed in its execution and callous in its treatment of service members who have devoted their lives to protecting our nation.

Despite rhetoric suggesting this policy allows for nuance, the reality is absolute. The Department of Defense has abandoned any pretense of "grandfathering" transgender service members, many of whom have been serving honorably since first permitted to openly serve in 2017. These individuals—who meet all military requirements, are deployed worldwide, and serve with distinction—are now labeled unfit based on a characteristic that has nothing to do with their abilities or performance.

This abrupt reversal represents an extraordinary betrayal of trust. Service members who came forward, often at great personal risk, under previous assurances from military leadership that they could serve as transgender troops, now face involuntary separation. As the United States Secretary of the Navy, and during my own military service, I committed to an institution that prided itself on never leaving anyone behind. Yet thousands of transgender service members are now being abandoned without regard for their years of effective and dedicated service.

[D'Amalie]

extraordinary betrayal of trust.

This is what it feels like to have VA support dropped as well.