"On May 9, Sabrina Bruce walked out to her car expecting to reenlist. She had just completed months of advanced cyber training in Colorado, returned to her unit, and been back on the job for nine days. Reenlistment was not a career gamble but a continuation - the next step in a military life she had spent nearly a decade building inside the U.S. Air Force and later the U.S. Space Force."
"Instead, sitting in her car, Bruce learned that the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward with a policy announced in late January 2025, barring transgender people from military service. President Donald Trump had demanded the ban. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was implementing it. Bruce's career was effectively over."
"She eventually took what the Pentagon termed "voluntary separation," which meant she would leave without being subject to a medical investigation that would result in her departure. For months, Bruce had believed the institution she served would not erase people who had already proven themselves. "I'd been serving for eight years," Bruce said. "And there was nothing in my records that meant that I should have been kicked out.""
Sabrina Bruce completed advanced cyber training, returned to her unit, and expected to reenlist after nearly a decade of service in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. On May 9 she learned the U.S. Supreme Court allowed a January 2025 policy barring transgender people from military service to proceed, effectively ending her career. She accepted a Pentagon "voluntary separation" to avoid a medical investigation that would force her removal. She had believed proven service would protect her, citing eight years without disqualifying records. She is channeling anger and professional skills into political engagement to affect change.
Read at Advocate.com
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