Donald Trump forced Erica Vandal out of the military. So she's fighting back.

U.S. Army Major Erica Vandal, 37, was tapped early last year to be a plaintiff in Talbott v. USA, the court case challenging Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members in the military. She left the Army last June.

Vandal grew up on military bases around the world and spent 10 years as an officer before transitioning in 2021. That year, she got a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from an Army doctor. Her marriage did not survive the change.

Now she’s working with Sparta Pride, a group of trans military members and veterans recently dedicated to helping trans troops and officers navigate separation from service. She’s also taking time to find out “who I am outside the military.”

Vandal spoke from her home in Colorado Springs.

LGBTQ Nation: I have some questions about Trump’s executive order banning trans service members, about Talbott v. USA, the case that you’re a plaintiff in, and your voluntary separation, which you started back in June last year. But let’s start with today. What are you up to now that you’re out of the service?

Right now, I’m taking some time to kind of figure out who I am outside the military. My identity has been so tied up with that, having been associated with the Army from birth basically.

While I’m doing that, though, I am continuing to serve and give back to my community. Currently, I am a board member at Sparta, helping to set strategy and set the direction of the organization. I’m a treasurer there, and I’m helping to assist other transgender service members still in the military, trying to navigate separation. We’re giving out a lot of microgrants to help them during these uncertain times. And I’m looking at other nonprofits and philanthropic organizations.

What would you like to do at one of those?

Any type of project management, that kind of stuff. I’ve been looking at things like Pivotal Ventures, which is Melinda Gates’ foundation, focusing on advancement of women’s causes and young people, things of that nature. Anything where I can continue to get that sense of purpose and giving back.

What’s the status of other trans members in the military? I think a lot of people would be surprised to hear there are any left.

There are absolutely still transgender service members in the military. Even some of those that elected to voluntarily separate are still in the military, and stuck in this kind of limbo with this uncertainty that impacts them every day. Some haven’t received a separation date, and they’re unable to seek that next step in their career, the next step in their life development.

And then for those seeking involuntary separation, again, super-highly qualified people meeting every standard, and they present a mountain of evidence before their boards of inquiry, and the boards literally say, “Yes, we’re not denying that you are qualified to serve, we’re not denying that you’re capable, you’re ready. But based upon this policy, we have to say, ‘Do not retain.’” It’s the same exact administrative process for officers or individuals with DUIs, drug abuse, spousal abuse, whatever, but for a supposedly “medical” reason.

What’s your best estimate of the number of trans service members still in the military?

Certainly in the thousands.

Among the folks you’ve talked to, how has their service changed while they’re in this limbo?

Same as the case with me. Our supervisors, our superiors, our peers, our subordinates, all couldn’t understand the reason, seeing these capable and qualified individuals being separated. They don’t get it, so they are very sympathetic to it. They are kind of outraged on our behalf. But at the end of the day, that is the policy enacted by the Commander-in-Chief, and allowed to proceed forward by the Supreme Court.

You’ve seen your life kind of turned upside down over the last several years, some of it predictable, like the trans ban after Trump’s election, and some less so, like your wife’s decision to separate. What’s guided you through all those changes, or been a source of comfort as you grapple with them?

I think it has to be that sense of community, both in the trans service member community, the larger transgender communities, the LGBTQ community at large. You know, I’ve had gay, lesbian, trans friends reaching out, checking up on me, making sure I’m doing okay, providing me whatever type of benefit they can. It’s such an amazing network of individuals. They’ve helped buoy me during difficult times. And continuing to seek out that sense of purpose-driven work, I think, has been highly effective maintaining that sense of normalcy, and that continued drive forward.

How about your brothers, who also served?

Yeah, absolutely. My older brother was in the Marine Corps. He left about six years ago and is currently in his residency as an orthopedic surgeon out in Pennsylvania. He’s a doctor now. My younger brother is currently at the Naval Academy teaching. My family’s been huge supporters of me, huge proponents on my behalf this entire time. They’ve been amazing and I can’t say enough about them.

After almost 15 years in the Army, four of those following your transition, you joined the lawsuit Talbot v. USA in early 2025, which challenged Trump’s trans ban. You were still serving at the time. How did you end up as a plaintiff in the case?

Through Sparta. There was a survey put out there, like, “Hey, if a service member ban was enacted, how would this impact you?” And obviously, as a career officer within the Army, as an individual with a family, you know, the impacts are huge. So I just filled out that survey, and then Shannon [Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights] reached out to ask if I would be willing to sign on as a plaintiff should a ban be enacted.

It was a difficult decision for me, just because by nature, I think I’m a pretty private individual. So, I talked it out with my brothers, I talked it out with some mentors of mine, and it just came back to one of the lessons my dad always kind of strove to impart on us, of choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and being willing to stand up for others. Just lessons that not only my dad, but the Army itself, taught me from day one.

What are some of the assertions in that executive order that stood out?

[Laughing] It’s pretty obvious that I find that executive order so morally, unambiguously wrong, asserting that transgender service members are not only physically and mentally incompatible with service, but that we are morally incompatible with service, despite the way we were raised, despite decades of evidence, decades of time in service, and mountains of evidence demonstrating conclusively that we meet the standards. We’re ready to deploy to fight. We just want to serve like everybody else, and we do effectively serve. I don’t know, I just find it professionally and personally repugnant.

Was it the executive order or a later Pentagon order that claimed trans people “lacked honesty, humility, and integrity”?

So, it was the executive order initially that did it, and it’s funny because the initial court case moved forward based on the executive order before the actual DoD policy dropped. And Judge Reyes, during the court hearing, said, like, I don’t expect to see this kind of language when the policy comes out. Obviously, they’re going to want to make it, you know, nonpartisan, or whatever, when they put it out. But then she was proven wrong. The policy came out, and it still had that kind of language.

So, despite an injunction halting the ban from Judge Reyes, who praised you and the other plaintiffs as exemplary, and called Trump’s ban “soaked in animus,” “dripping with pretext,” and “unabashedly demeaning,” the Supreme Court did clear the way last May for the ban to move forward while challenges worked their way through the courts.

Then, in June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth instructed trans service members to either voluntarily self-identify for separation or face involuntary separation, and it happened just weeks after your wife left you and took your kids with her. What was going through your mind?

It was obviously a difficult time for me. I had to make the right decision for my family, for myself. It was very, very obvious, based upon the wording of the policy, that despite being given the opportunity for a board of inquiry, they weren’t going to see the person behind all this. It ultimately came down to a choice of getting out on my terms or being forced out via a dehumanizing process, in which I would have to cut my hair and adhere to male standards just to be present at my own board of inquiry. So financially and personally, it made sense for me to get out via the voluntary separation method.

The options on how to separate were a kind of Faustian bargain, in terms of the settlement being offered; it was dramatically less if you challenged your separation. Describe what that was.

So, the voluntary separation offered pay at a rate of twice that of the involuntary separation pay, and it certainly felt like the government was throwing money at a problem in order to make it go away. And like I said, it’s everybody’s own personal decision. I still harbor a fair amount of guilt for taking that voluntary separation pay, but it was a personal choice that made sense for my situation.

There was a lot of money involved.

Yep.

When you came out in 2021, you had the support of your superiors. One commander went as far as thanking you for trusting him with the knowledge that you were starting your transition, and said you had his “full support.” What is it about your service, or U.S. military culture, that inspired that kind of loyalty from him?

I think ultimately the military is a true meritocracy, in which people are judged on their performance, their potential, and their ability to meet standards. I think from the get-go, I have always given my all to that, and people who see that don’t care who you are based upon your sexuality, your gender identity, your race, your creed, where you come from, your socioeconomic background. They care about your ability to perform and meet the standards and complete the mission. Me being my authentic self, if anything, made me a better officer, a better soldier, a better leader.

I hear that kind of story of a military culture that engenders a real-life Band of Brothers loyalty, and then contrast it to a speech Pete Hegseth gave to troops just before the Supreme Court lifted the injunction, when he said, “No more dudes in dresses. We’re done with that s**t.” It’s just head-spinning. What has Hegseth’s role been in sowing animosity toward transgender service members?

Over the past decade, the sociopolitical rhetoric out of this country has been turning more and more hostile, and not just against trans service members, not just against the LGBT community, but against minorities as a whole. I think we’re continuing to see this political and partisan divide and animosity growing towards these minority populations and the most vulnerable among us, and I think we’ve been seeing an increase in politics and partisanship within the military itself, which by its very nature is supposed to be nonpartisan. It’s concerning to see.

Do you worry that Hegseth and Trump are giving a “license to hate” to young men in the military who would otherwise be reined in by tradition and discipline?

I don’t want to speculate on that. Like I just said, it is concerning to see.

You come from a military family. Your father commanded the Eighth Army in South Korea. Like him, you attended West Point. Your brothers were in the Naval Academy, and all of you were a part of a culture that dates back 250 years. What kind of lens do you see Trump’s trans ban through? Is his turn as commander-in-chief an unfortunate anomaly? Will the military shrug off “Secretary of War” Hegseth when he’s gone? Is the military resilient enough to survive Trump?

I’m hoping the institution and its doctrine and its traditions and lineage in history is enough to weather this increase in partisanship, but I guess ultimately time will tell. Again, this is purely my opinion. I think there has been growing concern about the leadership of the military, particularly the civilian leadership.

As for trans service members, the military is a cross-section of America writ large. That’s why it’s so important trans service members are able to serve, as well. Trans service members as a demographic serve at a much higher per capita rate than virtually any other demographic within the population. I think it’s important to maintain that diversity and that perspective within the military.

Talbot v. USA continues to make its way through the courts, and may turn into a class action suit which would apply to all trans service members, not just you and the other current plaintiffs. If the ban does end up being overturned, or the next president ends it, would you consider rejoining the military if they gave you that opportunity?

Yeah, without a doubt. I absolutely would. I still love this country. I love the military. I believe in them. I want them to live up to the ideals this country was founded upon, that all people are created equal. So, yeah, I would absolutely go back.

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Originally published here.