Alabama military officials, personnel await expected transgender service ban

Maj. Jason Vero, an active-duty Air Force helicopter pilot, started living publicly as a trans man in 2019.

Vero, who is now stationed at the Pentagon, grew up in Alabama and became his family’s fourth generation to serve in the military and the first commissioned officer. But now, 14 years in, he could lose that military career, as well as his benefits, pension and healthcare for his family.

That’s because this week, shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump repealed a Biden administration rule allowing transgender people to openly serve in the U.S. military. The rule has flip-flopped between presidents for years.

Now, Alabama military officials and troops like Vero are preparing for a policy by the Trump administration barring transgender people, expected to be revived after his first term.

It’s unclear how quickly this will impact transgender troops currently serving, or how it will impact veteran services or recruitment in the future.

“As we receive guidance from the new administration, including our higher headquarters within the Department of Defense, we are examining current policies and the implementation of any required changes,” said Mack Muzio, director of public affairs for the Alabama National Guard.

Other public affairs officers for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps referred AL.com to the federal Office of the Secretary of Defense, declining to answer questions.

“The Department of Defense will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives,” said a Department of Defense official. “We will provide status updates as we are able.”

Trump’s move is not yet a ban on transgender service members, though it clears the way for one like a ban he ordered in 2017, during his first presidential term, said Adele Scheiber, spokesperson for LGBTQ+ military and veteran advocacy group Modern Military Association of America.

“This paves the way for a new ban on military service, but as of today, nothing has changed,” Scheiber said in a video statement on Tuesday. “We know this is a stressful time while we wait and see what’s to come.”

Alabama resident and U.S. Navy Chief Autumn Pierce came out as a transgender woman all at once to her unit and other staff two years ago.

While she had to be the one to advocate for herself to her leadership and medical staff, and oftentimes educate them on what being transgender was, she said she had more of a positive experience than she’s had working in the civilian world.

“Everyone told me, ‘Look I don’t care, as long as you do your job every day,’” she said. “Nobody tried to convince me or debate me.”

Pierce is proud of her Navy career. She joined active duty in 2003, working on a submarine for years before she started her family and joined the Reserves in 2009. She also spent a year in Afghanistan in 2015, calling it a key “formative experience” of her life. Now, she leads other sailors, which she said she’s passionate about.

“I’m going to be visibly myself, and keep doing what I’m doing,” she said. “The only way the Navy is going to move past this problem is if people are going to stay in and show them they can do this.”

Pierce said she’s unsure how the policy moving forward will affect people who are already serving on contracts, as well as people who have finished their medical transition. She added that she knew openly gay and lesbian sailors during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era.

The Department of Defense reported that nearly 15,000 service members were estimated to be openly transgender, making up 0.7% of the military at the time, according to 2018 numbers.

Transgender people are about twice as likely as all adults to have served in the U.S. armed forces, according to a UCLA Williams Institute study.

Meanwhile, nationally, the military has struggled to meet recruitment goals, with shortfalls in enlisting new soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force last year, per the Defense Department.

Vero clarified in an email to AL.com that his views are his own personal opinions and don’t represent the official stance of the Department of Defense or the Air Force.

“Our military cannot afford to lose people, especially those who have consistently demonstrated their ability to get the mission done over the past decade,” Vero said. “Suddenly removing 15,000 service members would irreparably harm our national security for decades.”

He added that barring transgender people from service will sacrifice years of experience that will be hard to immediately replace with new recruits.

“What will the American people lose? A pilot who has saved lives, limped broken aircraft back to base when others wouldn’t, and resolved a two-year delay for aircraft modifications in the span of 30 minutes,” Vero said. “A leader who oversaw a 700+ member team to execute 14 national security and strategic objectives in our nation’s capital, earning accolades from the Air Force’s highest-ranking general.”

Alabama’s military presence centers largely around Huntsville, where Redstone Arsenal – a U.S. Army post home to the branch’s missile, aviation and missile defense programs – is located. The state’s military sites also include Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, the Anniston Army Depot, the Army’s Fort Novosel in Dale County, and Air National Guard bases in Birmingham, Dothan and Montgomery.

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