And so it begins … the MAGA military commanders are now running the show, gleefully flaunting their newfound power to thumb their noses at the Constitution and dismantle every vestige of equality in our armed forces, taking particular pleasure in derailing the careers of female officers, who, in the misogynistic, Christian fundamentalist opinion of Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, should be home having babies, not serving in the military.
Of all the many, many e-mails and phone calls that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) has received from female service members in this very dark week for America and its military, one e-mail from a female Annapolis graduate and Navy fighter pilot stands out as painting a disturbingly vivid picture of what’s happening military-wide.
This female Navy fighter pilot told MRFF that her ’Top Gun’ application had been terminated by her ecstatic MAGA commander for no other reason than her being female. As this female Navy pilot wrote:
“He smiled as he spoke to me and then rationalized this decision because ‘women won’t ever be in combat again’ and I ‘should not be taking a male Naval Aviator's place.’
But terminating this female pilot’s application wasn’t even all that this MAGA commander did that day. He also unveiled his new ’10 Commandments,’ laying out in stark detail his MAGA screw-everybody-who-isn’t-white-and-male-and-Christian agenda. As the female Navy fighter pilot wrote (emphasis added):
“… he told all of us gathered at the All Hands meeting that per the direct order of our new Commander in Chief Trump there would be no more ‘DEI Poison’ under his command in our unit nor at our installation. He then presented us via Power Point with his new ’10 Commandments’ as he called them which went into effect immediately:
(1) No more Black History Month
(2) No more Women’s History Month
(3) No more Hispanic History Month
(4) No more LGBTQ recognition
(5) No more talk about “Transexuals” anywhere in the military workplace as "they do not exist anymore than leprechauns exist"
(6) Female personnel will participate in “female pursuits only” for sports teams on his military installation
(7) “Female pursuits” for female sports include only badminton, bowling, tennis and golf
(8) Female military personnel will no longer be allowed to participate on installation teams for rugby (which I played at Annapolis), basketball, flag football and mixed martial arts. They may run track but not participate in any field events
(9) No more “holiday parties” as all events will be designated only as “Christmas parties” during the end of the year season
(10) Bible studies in the workplace "are highly encouraged though no one will be forced to attend”
That’s right. Females should only participate in “female pursuits” — with appropriate “female pursuits” to be decided on by manly MAGA men.
As I said, this is what’s going on military-wide. As one an active duty female member of the United States Air Force, who sent MRFF the following memorandum from the acting Secretary of the Air Force, wrote:
“Bases are disbanding Women’s Initiative Teams, cancelling Women’s Leadership Symposiums normally hosted during Women’s History Month, and cancelling observances and events normally hosted during Black History Month. Heartbreaking.”
Here is the entire e-mail from the female Navy fighter pilot, giving us just one snapshot of what’s happening on our military bases right now and is sure to become more and more dystopian as the MAGA agenda progresses:
From: (Active Duty U.S. Navy Pilot/MRFF Client’s e-mail address withheld)
Subject: My Top Gun application has been terminated because I am female
Date: January 24, 2025 at 7:10:20 AM MST
To: Mikey Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org>
Mr. Weinstein, thank you for taking my call and talking me off the ledge the other day.
I wanted to write this brief thank you note to you and everyone at the MRFF. Years ago you helped my brother who is in the Marines from being proselytized by his company commander and our whole family can never thank you and the MRFF enough for that. I never thought that I would need you too later in life.
I am a female (officer rank status withheld) grade officer in the United States Navy. I am married to another U.S. Naval officer who is male. We have children. We are members of our local off base Methodist church and also attend Protestant services at our installation chapel every other week.
I am also a Naval Aviator (fighter pilot) with a lot of combat sortie mission experience including many carrier landings as well as a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis like your dad was.
I reached out earlier this week to you for advice when our unit commander at (name of military installation and location withheld) held a mandatory All Hands meeting. I and many others who attended will never forget what he said.
Never one to not show his public support for Trump and the “Make America Great Again” movement at any official military gatherings (he often wore that red MAGA hat with his uniform), he told all of us gathered at the All Hands meeting that per the direct order of our new Commander in Chief Trump there would be no more “DEI Poison” under his command in our unit nor at our installation. He then presented us via Power Point with his new “10 Commandments” as he called them which went into effect immediately:
(1) No more Black History Month
(2) No more Women’s History Month
(3) No more Hispanic History Month
(4) No more LGBTQ recognition
(5) No more talk about “Transexuals” anywhere in the military workplace as "they do not exist anymore than leprechauns exist"
(6) Female personnel will participate in “female pursuits only” for sports teams on his military installation
(7) “Female pursuits” for female sports include only badminton, bowling, tennis and golf
(8) Female military personnel will no longer be allowed to participate on installation teams for rugby (which I played at Annapolis), basketball, flag football and mixed martial arts. They may run track but not participate in any field events
(9) No more “holiday parties” as all events will be designated only as “Christmas parties” during the end of the year season
(10) Bible studies in the workplace "are highly encouraged though no one will be forced to attend”
There is much more I could say but it’s too horrible to think about.
At the end of this All Hands meeting, the unit commander called me aside and said he would no longer be endorsing my application to the Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program more well known as “Top Gun” (which is actually held at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, not at Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego, as portrayed in the movies. It used to be there but moved to Nevada almost 30 years ago). He smiled as he spoke to me and then rationalized this decision because “women won’t ever be in combat again” and I “should not be taking a male Naval Aviator's place”.
I was speechless and felt instantly nauseated and just stared at my unit commander. His smile never left his face and then he abruptly walked away.
Attending Top Gun was my life’s dream since I first saw the movie as a kid and had been my whole reason for going to Annapolis and becoming a Naval Aviator/fighter pilot in the first place!
I wanted to really thank Mr. Weinstein for giving me a lot of his time and encouraging advice which I won’t go into here but it made all the difference for me. And I will continue to serve my country and try to wait out this terrible MAGA storm. So many of us will depend on the MRFF to fight this fight for us all!
I am sure it will get much worse before it may ever begin to get any better. Please keep my name, rank and all other information other than what is in this e-mail to you private so that I cannot be targeted by my command chain for reprisal. They would love the chance.
