Transgender veteran: Trump’s removing transgendered troops is ‘reckless and dangerous’

Alleria Stanley, a transgendered woman, penned an opinion article for The Guardian. He took aim at President Donald Trump’s order to have transgendered service members removed from the military. Stanley countered the reasons used for removing transgendered service members from the ranks. He argued that transgenders were twice as likely than the general population to serve. Stanley also argued that this move was “reckless and counterproductive” to military readiness.

From The Guardian:

The Trump administration is wrong about transgender service members. The Pentagon memo declares that being transgender is “incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service”. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

There are at least 15,000 transgender individuals in the military, and they serve everywhere. They are pilots, submariners, and infantry; they are in command positions; they are trusted in the highest-skilled military jobs and the riskiest; they hold top secret clearances (as I did). The cumulative loss of institutional and career knowledge across the spectrum that will come from this decision is devastating, as is the personal loss to these service members and their families.

This new order is reckless and counter-productive to military preparedness. When we face threats worldwide, we need a strong and resilient military. We don’t need to leave 15,000 skilled positions vacant.

Furthermore, what precedent does this set? We already know that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, does not believe women should serve in combat. Many people don’t realize that equal African American military service is not codified by law — only by President Truman’s Executive Order #9981. This means it can be reversed at any time. I use this as an example because when policies are allowed to ping-pong between executive orders instead of law, it puts people’s lives at risk.

I was fortunate to have found an online arts organization during my lowest moment in Missouri. Community Building Art offers creative writing and art workshops for female and nonbinary veterans. Participating in a community like this saved my life and has proven to reduce suicidality among participants.

But I worry now for all those suddenly forced out of the careers and communities they’ve known. We should support their service to our nation, and should they be dismissed, we must offer them safe spaces. Yet, instead of focusing on crises like veteran suicide, the administration is endangering veterans’ care. We will need the private sector to support service members and veterans in this dangerous time.

Additional Reading:

Stanley, A. (2025, March 11). I’m a transgender veteran. Trump’s military order is reckless and dangerous. The Guardian; Opinion. Link.

Category: Editorial, Op-Ed, Veterans in the news