Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Trans Master Sgt describes being told she's the "wrong kind of American" after 20 years of service

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/09/trans-master-sgt-describes-being-told-shes-the-wrong-kind-of-american-after-20-years-of-service/

Molly Sprayregen (9 Sep 2026)

After twenty years in the Army, Master Sergeant Amiah Sale's future hangs in the balance.

The Trump administration has made it a mission to purge all trans service members from the military, but as the trans military ban makes its way through the courts, some service members, like Sale, are spending their days in limbo.

Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 banning transgender people from serving in the military. The order said that trans people are, by definition, unable to meet the military's "high standards" and that having a gender identity that does not align with one's sex assigned at birth is proof that a person cannot be "honorable, truthful, and disciplined."

In March, a military separation board consisting of three senior officers voted to oust Sale from the military in compliance with the ban. She wasn't even allowed in the room to make a case for herself. The decision to discharge her, she said, took only 20 minutes.

"I've never heard of an instance in my 20 years of experience where someone didn't get to go in and plead their case... Twenty years of stellar service, and you're going to come back in 20 minutes without even looking me in the face and say, 'Oh no, you're not a patriot. You're not a soldier anymore. We're going to separate you.'"

But for now, her job is safe.

Sale is a named plaintiff in Talbott v. USA and has remained on active duty in South Korea after a judge ruled in June that the plaintiffs cannot be kicked out of the military while the litigation proceeds.
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@Sarah B

According to The Advocate: https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trans-sergeant-challenges-pete-hegseth

According to court filings, she has received two Meritorious Service Medals, seven Army Commendation Medals and six Army Achievement Medals. She is also a member of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, which recognizes distinguished noncommissioned officers.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spent more than a year broadcasting his contempt for transgender troops from behind microphones and across social media. On Tuesday, one of the soldiers he is trying to force out invited him to try it face to face.

"Words are only words if you give them power," Army Master Sgt. Amiah Sale told MS NOW's Peter Alexander. "I don't think that it's something that he would say to our faces."

"If so, I'm in South Korea," she added. "I hope to see you soon."

Sale was responding to Alexander's question about Hegseth's repeated use of anti-transgender slurs, including his description of transgender troops as "dudes in dresses." The defense secretary has paired that language with a policy designed to remove transgender people from military service regardless of their performance, experience, or commanders' support.

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Cowards hide behind closed doors. Leaders do not. Hegseth is unqualified for military service or any leadership position. Bigotry has no place in government.

Quote from: Lori Dee on Yesterday at 11:06:12 AMAccording to The Advocate: https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trans-sergeant-challenges-pete-hegseth

According to court filings, she has received two Meritorious Service Medals, seven Army Commendation Medals and six Army Achievement Medals. She is also a member of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club, which recognizes distinguished noncommissioned officers.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spent more than a year broadcasting his contempt for transgender troops from behind microphones and across social media. On Tuesday, one of the soldiers he is trying to force out invited him to try it face to face.

"Words are only words if you give them power," Army Master Sgt. Amiah Sale told MS NOW's Peter Alexander. "I don't think that it's something that he would say to our faces."

"If so, I'm in South Korea," she added. "I hope to see you soon."

Sale was responding to Alexander's question about Hegseth's repeated use of anti-transgender slurs, including his description of transgender troops as "dudes in dresses." The defense secretary has paired that language with a policy designed to remove transgender people from military service regardless of their performance, experience, or commanders' support.

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Cowards hide behind closed doors. Leaders do not. Hegseth is unqualified for military service or any leadership position. Bigotry has no place in government.

So, ol' Prancing Pete likes nicknames. Except the one he earned for himself: "No Tab Pete" https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/pete-hegseth-3-word-brutal-072128726.html

Even though I've not been in the US army, but in an army over on this side of the pond, the mere thought that a Master Sgt would be the wrong kind of citizen is repulsive.

The signs have been right in front of us. We just weren't paying attention.

Associated Press - November 15, 2024 - https://web.archive.org/web/20241115205725/https://apnews.com/article/trump-defense-department-pentagon-hegseth-fox-news-8cd9f065e54a7cbbaceeec8bae9261a6

Pete Hegseth, the Army National Guard veteran and Fox News host nominated by Donald Trump to lead the Department of Defense, was flagged as a possible "Insider Threat" by a fellow service member due to a tattoo he has that's associated with white supremacist groups.

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I hope she wins her court case. It's ridiculous that anyone can be fired simply because they are trans. The only criteria should be whether you can or cannot do the job. It's that simple.