People holding American flags as military officers parade by. (Insert by Cheryl Casey via Bigstock)
As Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, stood on a stage two weeks ago and delivered his now-infamous speech on the military’s new “war on woke” to hundreds of silent, high-ranking military officials, LGBTQ veterans heard what he said loud and clear: This is not the military I gave my life for, and he doesn’t care.
William Kibler is no stranger to danger and conflict. He served as a Lance Corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War. He was stationed there when 241 U.S. service members died in a terrorist attack targeting the Marine barracks — the deadliest day in history for the Marines since Iwo Jima in World War II. Kibler was not personally in the barracks at the time of the attack.
The former Lance Corporal has a clear reason why he served: the Constitution and the ideals it represents to Americans and democracy everywhere. Today, he is president of GayVeteransUS Inc., a nonprofit veterans organization that works to support the LGBTQ veteran community. (His remarks in this story reflect his personal beliefs and he is not speaking on behalf of the organization.)
“Every veteran took an oath to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” Kibler told the Blade. “Our oath does not have an expiration date, and every veteran that I know lives up to living with those standards.”
Those standards include protecting all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, or any other feature the Trump administration has deemed “woke.” As President Trump began to militarize U.S. cities under the guise of a “crime emergency,” Kibler saw this as a direct threat not only to the Constitution, but to Americans everywhere.
“It’s a way of life for most veterans, to protect the Constitution, and when you go up against sending Marines into LA or Chicago or Houston or wherever, you’re violating your oath of enlistment, there’s a difference,” the self-described “Marine who happens to be gay,” rather than a “gay Marine,” explained.
“I did not enlist to be ordered to go against my fellow Americans or discredit the U.S. Constitution,” he wrote in a letter to General Eric M. Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps, the highest-ranking Marine. “I did sign up to protect Americans’ U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, which is something that I am now doing as a Veteran.”
He asks General Smith to “rescind my title as ‘US Marine’” due to the consistent “engaging in hostile actions in Los Angeles,” as videos of National Guard units suppressing protesters’ constitutional right to peacefully demonstrate continue to go viral on social media.
Kibler continues, telling General Smith: “Somewhere along the way you lost your Honor.” He finishes his request with another chilling statement: “May I respectfully remind you of the Nuremberg Trials. From now on, I will simply be referred to as Former Marine.”
It’s common to hear Marines say, “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” because the title is considered lifelong and sacred. For someone to ask for their title — earned after 11 and a half years of service — to be disavowed is telling.
Kibler’s dissatisfaction with the recent changes in military attitudes extends to the slew of anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives being pushed under Trump’s leadership — programs designed to level the playing field for underrepresented communities seeking jobs within the military, and ones that, contrary to Hegseth’s claims, have never been used to hire unqualified people.
Kibler is not alone in feeling disappointed in the recent actions of the U.S. military. Lene Mees de Tricht is a two-branch veteran and currently works as the Deputy Director for Member Engagement at Common Defense, the country’s largest veteran-led grassroots organization committed to promoting progressive ideals within the military.
“Threatening the jobs of people who disagree with you threatens the neutrality of the military and the revered position it holds in our national discourse,” she told the Blade. “They’re taking a hammer to an institution that matters a lot to Americans.”
That “hammer” being swung by Hegseth, Mees de Tricht explained, is having rippling effects on the military’s determination and cohesion. She went on to say its “impact has been catastrophic on morale.”
“I’m in contact with a lot of trans service members and a lot of Black service members, and they’re all wondering what’s going to happen to their jobs,” she said. “The Secretary of Defense is sending the message that you’re not welcome here. And that’s not just wrong — it’s against the aspirations of the America we talk about wanting to be.”
Mees de Tricht explained that the anti-DEI efforts the administration has pushed forward are ignoring a crucial strength that helps make the U.S. military one of the strongest in the world.
“Our military has become as ‘great’ as it has in part because it’s embraced people from all walks of life to serve the country. Stripping away DEI is short-sighted and out of step with what the American people want,” the Coast Guard and Navy vet said. “DEI made it possible for us to step outside of ourselves and think about how our adversary is thinking. Making the military less diverse will make us less capable, less resilient, and less intelligent.”
That asset, which has become a liability — at least in words under the Trump administration — will have lasting impacts, Mees de Tricht highlighted, ones that could affect those offering their lives to protect the country and the Constitution.
“It’s going to make the force weaker, more rigid, and more brittle…The military is more than combat arms — intelligence only works if we can get inside our adversary’s head. DEI made that possible.”
Mees de Tricht shared that while in the Navy, there were some Mexicans who served alongside her to earn citizenship — an action that, at its core, is about providing diverse and inclusive efforts within the military — that helped her.
“A lot of our work took us to South and Central America on that ship, and having somebody on board who understood the language and were familiar enough with the cultures made my experience of those deployments significantly easier — and it made me the person I am today,” she explained.
“With every ounce of respect due to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the current occupant of that office is dead wrong.”
This attack on identity within the military is not foreign for Mees de Tricht or Kibler. Both expressed deep frustration at the way discharges of LGBTQ military personnel have historically been carried out.
“We serve in different branches, but we’re unified by one common factor: we served honorably, and most of us have our honorable discharge,” Kibler said. “Some of us are still fighting the system to get that honorable discharge because they were kicked out — it’s been so many years, and people are still fighting to get their upgrades.”
Mees de Tricht is one of those people and has made it part of her personal mission to prevent this from happening again.
“I was discharged from the Coast Guard for being transgender in 2012, and I’m so sorry this is happening again. My life’s work has been to try to stop this from happening to anybody else — and it’s happening again.”
Despite the details surrounding her discharge from the military, Mees de Tricht emphasized that while there might not seem like a light at the end of the tunnel, there are people everywhere attempting to light a path.
“I survived. In fact, I thrived once I found my feet. I hope that gives folks hope.”
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
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