Trans Service Members Have Always Been Part of U.S. Historyhttps://www.advocate.com/history/history-of-trans-miltary-members 🔗Christopher Wiggins (3 Nov 2025)
The first time Commander Emily "Hawking" Shilling climbed into the cockpit of a Navy fighter jet after her transition, she knew eyes were on her. Some doubted she would ever be cleared to fly tactical jets again. Others assumed transitioning would ground her permanently. Instead, Shilling slipped her helmet on, throttled forward, and proved that competence, not gender identity, should decide who belongs in the sky.
Shilling's career spans nearly two decades: more than 60 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, three Air Medals, and time as a test pilot flying experimental aircraft. Now president of SPARTA Pride, which advocates for trans people in the military, she is the lead plaintiff in Shilling v. United States, challenging the Trump administration's 2025 transgender military ban.
A language and understanding of gender identity has evolved since Shilling first enlisted. But people outside rigid gender categories have been part of U.S. military history since the beginning, with examples that reach as far back as the Revolutionary War. In fact, transgender people are twice as likely to have served as their cisgender peers, according to the Williams Institute.
In 1782, Deborah Sampson disguised herself as Robert Shurtliff to join the Continental Army in the American Revolution. Albert Cashier, who lived as a man, fought in more than 40 engagements with the Union Army during the Civil War. Sarah Emma Edmonds, as Franklin Thompson, served in the Second Michigan Infantry in that conflict. Cathay Williams enlisted in 1866 as William Cathay, becoming the only known Black woman to serve as a buffalo soldier.
