Ousted From Military For Being Trans, Space Force Officer’s Book Makes Defense Department Banned Book List
A collection of heartfelt essays by transgender troops is being yanked off the shelves by the government.
Featured image: Official Department of the Air Force Photo/ Courtesy of Bree Fram
The Trump administration hasn’t let up on it’s mission to censor materials deemed to be “woke”. Now it’s taking aim at our military brass. Almost 600 books have already been quarantined from more than 100 Defense Department K-12 schools that serve 67,000 children of military personnel. According to the ACLU, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) began sending emails to teachers and staff back in February to “ensure books potentially related to gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology are removed from the student section.”
Newest to the whitewash board: With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words. Co-edited by Bree Fram, one of the highest ranking “out” transgender officers in the U.S. military, the collection showcases 26 personal accounts of individuals battling for their right to serve. They include a Captain of the Coast Guard cutter Campbell who spent eleven years at sea, and a Marine Corps veteran who became “the real me” at age 49.
“I am deeply disappointed that the Department of Defense has chosen to ban With Honor and Integrity, a book that shares the stories of transgender service members who have answered the call to serve our nation,” Fram tells GO. “These are not political stories, they are deeply human stories of service.”
Fram, who has worked at the Pentagon, is the highest ranking transgender member of the U.S. Department of Defense. A talented astronautical engineer and active duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, the author and activist also served as a program manager for satellite and technology programs for the U.S. Air Force and was deployed to Iraq and Qatar as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
With 22 years in the military, she was devastated to be placed on administrative leave last month following DoD’s directive to troops to voluntarily identify themselves and leave, or involuntarily be separated from the military. At the core is the policy under Trump and former Fox News Host, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which is forcing out thousands of service members in the military who happen to be trans.
While the Colonel and her co-editor, Máel Embser-Herbert, are taking the news of the book ban as a badge of honor, it’s heartbreaking. Following their recent announcement on social media, their following has been collectively beaming with enthusiasm and support for both Fram, and the heroes on the pages.
With Honor and Integrity now boasts a spot in the CensorSphere alongside To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood; The Color Purple, by Alice Walker; material about Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks; and actress Julianne Moore’s story about a self-conscious girl with red hair and lots of freckles.
“I stand by this book, by every contributor, and by the belief that our humanity has changed, and will continue to change, perceptions about who transgender people are,” Fram states. “Integrity and authenticity are not something to fear, they are something to lead with.”
With Honor and Integrity is available through NYU Press (use discount code NYU60) and signed copies here.
