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Trans Master Sgt told she's 'wrong kind of American'
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Army Master Sgt. Amiah Sale says she was told she's the "wrong kind of American" after 20 years of service.
Her future now rests with the courts weighing the military's transgender ban.
Background
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has spent more than a year publicly criticizing transgender troops, and his ban on their service is being challenged in court. Sale, an Army master sergeant with 20 years in uniform, says the policy is a culture-war measure that costs the military experienced leaders. She says she has never faced discrimination from her own units, only support.
How it unfolded
- recentlyDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth spends more than a year publicly criticizing transgender troops and pushes a ban on their service.
- Sep 8, 2026Army Master Sgt. Amiah Sale tells MS NOW's Peter Alexander that Hegseth would not say such things to soldiers' faces.
- Sep 9, 2026Sale describes being told she is the "wrong kind of American" after 20 years of service, as the ban moves through the courts.
Who’s saying what
- Party
- Sale calls the ban "bigoted and based on a culture war" and says it throws away millions spent training leaders like her.
- Support
- Sale says she has never experienced discrimination from her units, only "love and support."
- Caution
- Sale says the ban hurts her unit and the military by leaving units short of soldiers and losing valuable experience.