'I cannot remain quiet': Army officer defies orders to denounce Trump policy in scathing op-ed

30 June

A week into his second presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender Americans from enlisting or serving in the U.S. military. And in early June, the U.S. Department of Defense — under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — notified transgender Americans already serving in the military that they can either voluntarily or involuntarily leave.

But U.S. Army Major Anthony Guerrero, in a scathing op-ed published by the New York Times early Monday morning, June 30, lays out some reasons why he is vehemently opposed to the Trump Administration's anti-transgender policy.

"The president issued the order in January, and the Supreme Court last month allowed the (Trump) Administration to start enforcing it," Guerrero explains. "The order may be legally sound, but it is neither moral nor ethical. I believe that it is my duty as an officer to dissent when faced with such an order."

The U.S. Army major continues, "I may not be the sort of person you would expect to oppose a ban on transgender troops. I am a conservative evangelical Christian and a Republican. Though I have deep compassion for people who feel they are in the wrong body, I do not think that transitioning — as opposed to learning to love and accept the body God gave you — is the right thing to do in that predicament. But my views are irrelevant to the issue of transgender troops."

Guerrero denounces Trump's policy as "blatantly discriminatory," arguing that it does "nothing" to increase "military readiness."

"The executive order barring transgender troops is a legal command that provides cover for bigotry," Guerrero laments. "It delivers hate in the guise of a national security issue, dressed up in medicalized language. The meek compliance of military leadership with the ban sends a chilling message to all service members — namely, that our ranks are open only to those who fit a specific ideological mold, regardless of their ability to serve."

In a disclaimer at the end of Guerrero's op-ed, the Times notes that it was "written in his personal capacity and does not represent the official views of the U.S. Military Academy, the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense."

"Disobeying an order from a superior officer is punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice by dismissal, loss of pay and confinement," Guerrero explains. "But this issue is too important to me. I cannot remain quiet while the Army that I love ignores lessons that it should have learned long ago."

U.S. Army Major Anthony Guerrero's full op-ed for the New York Times is available at this link (subscription required).

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