Sasha Buchert

Opinion contributor

Serving my country was always about something bigger than me. I put my life on the line to protect the rights and freedoms of every single American, because regardless of who we are individually, we are bound by our love for our country, and united by values that eclipse our differences: freedom and liberty.



Our Commander in Chief doesn’t have the same understanding of service in this country.



As a former Marine Corps Scout-Sniper (STA platoon, Echo Co., 2nd battalion, 4th Marines, 2nd Marine Division), I lived every day driven by the sense of honor, duty and courage that comes from putting on our nation’s uniform. I served alongside other brave Americans who wore that uniform with as much pride as I did, and despite representing different ethnic backgrounds, faiths, genders, and perspectives, when we put that uniform on, we were Americans.



As a transgender member of the military, giving myself to my country also meant suppressing who I was, and spending every minute terrified I would get “caught” or outed. Getting caught would mean that I would have been involuntarily discharged.



Despite living every day with this fear, I put myself in this position because serving my country, defending our freedoms, and wearing that uniform was something that I believed was more important than a short-sighted and discriminatory policy.



As we see today, when transgender people are able to serve in the military as themselves, our nation is stronger for it. It allows us to grow our military, bolstering its expertise, talent, knowledge, and empowering its members to focus on their work, committing the energy and focus required to succeed, without fear of persecution.



In short: transgender people have always served in our military.



We have always worn our nation’s uniform, just like we have always been teachers, doctors, and nurses. We have always been neighbors, friends, and coworkers. We have been here forever, and will continue to be here forever, despite the short-sighted, discriminatory and foolish decisions made by our nation’s elected leaders.



It appears as though one such decision was made yesterday.



Our Commander in Chief, Donald Trump, tweeted that the “United States Government will not accept or allow….. Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.”

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His reason: he thinks we are a “disruption.”



It takes a lot of arrogance and audacity to minimize and downgrade the sacrifices made by the bravest Americans, who selflessly risked their lives in the name of all that is America. It takes a lot of malice and spite to reduce members of our military to a “disruption,” especially while perched atop a life of privilege and luxury.

Perhaps that is why the military services are pushing back and resisting changes to military policies based merely on Trump's tweets.



President Trump is the master of distraction, and lashing out against transgender Americans strikes me as a classic Trump attempt to distract from issues he’d rather not talk about, at the detriment of our military.



Trump’s tweet came on the exact anniversary that President Truman issued an executive order to integrate the military — a decision that was put off for years because it was feared to be a “distraction.”



Today, under the leadership of a man who clearly does not get what makes our American military families tick, this sadly comes as no surprise.

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I served in the military to help protect and defend America from threats coming from beyond. Today, I continue fighting for our country on a different battlefield, and this time because of threats coming from within.



As a staff attorney with Lambda Legal, I’ve channeled my outrage into defending the rights of transgender Americans, outraged as this administration continues to vilify, marginalize, and degrade who we are. He has targeted the most vulnerable, including transgender high school students, to now the most courageous members of our military.



Trump will undoubtedly continue to try to stamp out the historic progress made in the last few years by the LGBTQ community, but his reckless assault on civil rights will continue to be met with opposition, resistance, and fight.



President Trump’s actions have not deflated me -- they’ve only reinforced my commitment to fighting for this country. He has reminded me of what’s at stake, fueling me to fight even harder to defend our country, and reminding me what I learned during my time in the military: never let your guard down, an ambush can come at any moment and from anywhere.



So thank you, Mr. Trump. I have re-enlisted in the fight to save our country.

Sasha Buchert is a USMC veteran and a staff attorney for Lambda Legal. Follow her on Twitter: @sashabuchert

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