Tipsheet

DoD Gets Clobbered for Praising Transgender Army Major Who 'Inspires Us All'

The U.S. Army published a story about Major Rachel Jones who claims to be a transgender woman that has recently come out and is now "living authentically."

Jones is the U.S. Army Sustainment Command Cyber Division chief, G6 (Information Management), who "struggled with depression and suicidal ideation for most of her life. Today, she is living her truth and is no longer battling depression or suicidal thoughts."

The story goes on to say prior to publicly transitioning, Jones was suicidal on a daily basis:

'When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s there was a lot of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. I don’t think many people meant to do that, but it’s something I heard as I was growing up repeatedly. So much so that I was convinced I was inherently evil for being transgender,' said Jones. 'The pressure of hiding all of the time was so bad I grew up depressed and suicidal to the point that I always had a plan to end my life.'

Jones, however, feels lucky to be alive today. 'Even when deployed, the greatest threat to my own safety was myself,' she said.

...

While on a six-month assignment away from home, Jones finally realized that she needed to make a change. She made an appointment to meet with a therapist to sort through these feelings and learn self-acceptance.

"Although Jones privately came out in 2019, she could not publicly come out due to the military’s ban on transgender service members," the story adds.

 The Department of Defense's official Twitter account shared the story about Jones and it was met with heavy criticism from conservatives due to other pressing issues surrounding the military community and threats from abroad.