WASHINGTON— Today, more than 50 American military veterans, some of whom served under the command of James Mattis in uniform, released the following letter calling on Secretary of Defense James Mattis to oppose Donald Trumps un-American "trans ban" on military service by transgender Americans. The letter was published in full by the Daily Beast. More information about the letter, including a continually updated list of signers, can be found at ProtectTransTroops.com .
AN OPEN LETTER TO SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES MATTIS REGARDING TRANSGENDER MILITARY SERVICE
Secretary Mattis,
When Donald Trump announced you as his nominee to lead the Department of Defense, many in our community of veterans believed you to be an outstanding selection. Your care for troops and dedication to the mission are well known, and many believed you would be a steady hand and reasonable voice for an uncertain time and an inexperienced Commander-in-Chief.
As we learned in service and as you no doubt taught your subordinates, leaders are defined by their actions when facing adversity, not by what they do when leadership is unchallenging. This week, the President has presented you with such an opportunity by declaring, on the anniversary of Harry Truman's order to desegregate the armed forces, that our transgender comrades are no longer welcome to serve their country in uniform. As you and we are well aware, discrimination against any person regarding anything other than their combat effectiveness is incompatible with military service.
As you know, the history of transgender people serving in the American force is complicated. While transgender Americans serve openly today and have served discreetly in our force since 1776, it was not until last year that the Department of Defense allowed our transgender brothers and sisters to serve openly. Just this month, the Pentagon announced a delay in allowing openly trans recruits to enlist. In your approval of that delay you noted that there is one standard you use to evaluate policy decisions: "the readiness and lethality of our armed forces."
As American military veterans, we write to you today to emphatically state that Donald Trump's "trans ban" unquestionably fails your standard. This policy will harm readiness and unit cohesion by removing troops from service who are integral, critical, and necessary members of their teams. It will prevent the Department of Defense from recruiting patriotic and qualified Americans with vital skills simply because of an identity that has no impact on their combat effectiveness. And perhaps most importantly, this reckless and bigoted trans ban forces servicemembers to choose between living a lie to serve the country that they and we love, or maintaining the personal integrity that we all know to be a core value of military service.
We believe you to be an honorable leader with the best interests of our force at heart. That honor cannot abide silence regarding a policy that is shortsighted, discriminates against brave servicemembers already in uniform and Americans who aspire to serve, and harms the readiness and lethality of our force. As American veterans, some of whom have served under your command, we implore you to publicly reject the President's harmful statements and advise him to reverse this discriminatory decision. We know this is difficult for a leader in your position. But as you know well, great leaders cannot be timid in the face of adversity.
Bridget D Altenburg, United States Army Veteran, Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina
John Anderson, United States Marine Corps Veteran
Eric Baker, United States Army Veteran
Bill Barton, United States Air Force Veteran
Sarah Behan, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Jason Bensley, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Joseph A. Bello, United States Navy Veteran
Stephen Benson, United States Navy Veteran, Vietnam War
Keith Boyea, United States Air Force Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom
Tony Camerino, United States Air Force Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Robert Caruso, United States Navy Veteran
David Chasteen, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom
Dario DiBattista, United States Marine Corps Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Jason Davis, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Stephanie Driessel, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
LeighAnn Dunn, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
David Ramiro Duran, United States Army Veteran
Robin Eckstein, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Brian Esquibel, United States Navy Veteran, Operation Restore Hope, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Sonia Fernandez, United States Marine Corps Veteran
Brian Ferreira, United States Army Veteran, Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Chance Forte, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom
Phoebe Gavin, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Edgar G. Gibbs, United States Army Veteran
Lynne N. Gore, United States Air Force Veteran
Khristina Hall, United States Navy Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Rick Hegdahl, United States Navy Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Georgia Rep. Scott Holcomb, Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Chris Holman, United States Army Veteran
Andrew Horne, United States Marine Corps Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Jennifer Hunt, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Keith Jeffreys, United States Army Veteran
Tara Jones, United States Navy Veteran, Gulf War Era
Nathan D. Joy, United States Marine Corps Veteran
Michelle Kendall, United States Army Veteran, Operation Joint Endeavor
Jason Macon, United States Marine Corps Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Cyril Malika, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom
Lamar Mapp, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom
Alexander McCoy, United States Marine Corps Veteran
Brian McGough, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Rafael Noboa Y Rivera, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Perry O'Brien, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom
Matt Osborne, United States Army Veteran
Kade Patterson, United States Army Veteran
Jonas Rides At The Door, United States Marine Corps Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Jackie Rodgers, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Katherine Scheirman, M.D., United States Air Force Veteran
Terron Sims II, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Richard Allen Smith, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom
Shannon Smyth, United States Air Force Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Joseph Richard Stutler Jr., United States Army Veteran, Operation Desert Storm
Ryan Sullivan, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom
Mike Stark, United States Marine Corps Veteran
Armondo Telles, United States Marine Corps Veteran
Stephanie Torgerson, United States Air Force Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom
Charles Tyler, United States Army Veteran, Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Colm Walker, United States Army Veteran, Operation Enduring Freedom
Mark White, United States Air Force Veteran
Eli Williamson, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bobby Wise, United States Army Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom,
This letter is an independent effort of the signers named and not a project of any organization, campaign or political party. Named signers represent a coalition diverse in service branch, combat service, military rank, age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability status. Individual signers represent themselves only and do not represent their employers, branches of military service, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.
