Col. Bree Fram said she has been administravey separated from the U.S. Space Force due to the Pentagon's new policy on transgender service members. (Bree Fram)
A U.S. Space Force officer has been placed on administrative leave, pending separation, under the Defense Department’s new ban on transgender service members, ending her more than 22-year military career.
Col. Bree Fram, one of the highest-ranking openly transgender officers in the U.S. military, wrote in an Instagram post Friday that her removal would take effect the following day.
“In my last official act, I was able to pin medals on three of my folks,” she wrote. “The last salute broke my heart in two and the tears flowed freely even as I have so much to be thankful for and so many amazing memories.”
Fram, an astronautical engineer, served at the Pentagon as division chief for requirements integration. Her work focused on “defining the future capabilities that we’re going to need to win wars far into the future,” she told Stars and Stripes by phone just days before her leave.
Fram’s post comes as the Pentagon begins enforcing a directive that bars individuals with gender dysphoria — when a person’s biological sex does not match their gender identity — from serving. The policy stems from Executive Order 14183, signed in January by President Donald Trump and cleared for enforcement after the Supreme Court granted a stay in the case Shilling v. United States.
Under the new rules, active-duty troops had until Friday to voluntarily self-identify as transgender; National Guard and Reserve members have until July 7.
Fram is among roughly 1,000 troops who have come forward. Those who did not self-identify may now be flagged by commanders or medical staff during annual health checks or routine reviews.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has framed the ban as a return to traditional standards. “No more pronouns. No more dudes in dresses. We’re done with that s--,” he said last month during a special operations forces conference in Tampa. On X, he added, “No More Trans @ DoD.”
Fram said she came out in 2016 on the same day then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter lifted the military’s previous ban on open transgender service.
“I left for the gym to burn off the nervous energy, uncertain of how life might change,” she recalled on Instagram. “When I returned, one by one, my teammates came to my desk, shook my hand, and said versions of, ‘It’s an honor to serve with you.’”
Fram said she had a similar experience on Friday.
“There was a moment of silence before reality settled in,” she wrote of her final meeting with Joint Staff leaders. “Then, one-by-one, a room full of senior leaders, admirals and generals, walked over to me … they offered those same words, now tinged with the sadness of past tense: ‘It’s been an honor to serve with you.’”
The policy under which Fram is being removed is based on DOD Instruction 6130.03, which says gender dysphoria may result in “excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalizations.”
Pentagon data shows at least 4,240 service members across active duty, Guard and Reserve components have a gender dysphoria diagnosis, though officials acknowledge the number may be higher.
Fram said her position and experience compel her to speak up for others who fear retaliation.
“It is almost a duty and an obligation to speak on their behalf because it is my privilege to do so and to hopefully represent transgender service members well that do not have the privilege that comes along with the rank and the experience that I do,” she told Stars and Stripes.
Fram emphasized she was speaking in her personal capacity and not on behalf of the DOD or U.S. government.
“I look around at the transgender service members that I know, and I see some of the bravest, most incredible service members I have ever met or worked with,” she said. “If I don’t speak for them and they are unable to speak for themselves, who will speak for them?”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
