Veterans Always Women Inside
False Assumption: Combat veterans who transition after years of hyper-masculine military service were always transgender women on the inside.
Written by FARAgent on February 11, 2026
In February 2025, the New York Times profiled transgender service members. These included infantry leaders and pilots who deployed to combat zones, earned medals, and then announced their womanhood. The article presented their late realizations as proof their military experience contradicted political criticisms.
The Times portrayed these ex-men as having hidden their true feminine essence for decades. They fooled comrades and enemies alike while raining death from helicopters or leading squads. Readers learned none of the plausible alternatives, such as fetishes, that might explain grown men claiming womanhood after 30 years of manhood.
Skepticism grows. The Times shifted from 2013 offense to 2025 defense. Critics highlight ideological incoherence: feminists once said womanhood needs no stereotypes, but ex-men now demand belief in their lifelong deception as proof of authenticity. Trump policies barring them add pressure.
People Involved
- Dave Philipps, a reporter for the New York Times, profiled transgender service members in 2018. He presented them as combat veterans whose stories refuted political attacks on their service.
- Philipps acted as a proponent of the idea that these veterans had always been women inside, despite their years in hyper-masculine roles. [1]
- Sgt. First Class Julia Becraft, an infantry squad leader with three deployments to Afghanistan and a Bronze Star, announced her transgender identity to her soldiers. She claimed her military experience had been that of a woman all along. [1]
- Chief Warrant Officer Jo Ellis, a Black Hawk pilot and door gunner with combat tours, said she realized her trans identity during survival training. She described a sudden awareness after decades of masculine service. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“By Dave Philipps Reporting from San Diego Feb. 27, 2025”— Meet the Ex-Men
“Sgt. First Class Julia Becraft circled up a dozen infantry soldiers at Fort Cavazos, Texas, and introduced herself as their new squad leader. She let them know they were in experienced hands: She had deployed to Afghanistan three times, seen a fair share of combat and been awarded the Bronze Star. Also, she told them, she was transgender.”— Meet the Ex-Men
“Chief Warrant Officer Jo Ellis was just out of high school in 2009 when she joined the Army National Guard as a helicopter mechanic. She deployed to combat as a door gunner, then became a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. In 2021, while going through the military’s brutal survival school, where pilots endure mock torture, sleep deprivation and solitary confinement, she had a sudden realization that she was trans.”— Meet the Ex-Men
Organizations Involved
The New York Times took up the cause in its news pages around 2018. The organization profiled trans troops as war heroes who had fought the Taliban while secretly being women inside. [1] This coverage aimed to counter political portrayals of transgender service members as unfit. The Times promoted the assumption through these stories, framing the veterans' transitions as revelations of innate identity. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“The NYT credulously profiles war heroes who, after a decade of slaughtering Taliban and ISIS, have decided that they were always really ladies on the inside.”— Meet the Ex-Men
“From the New York Times news section: Meet the Trans Troops the Trump Administration Is Barring Officers and enlisted. Combat veterans and recent recruits. Transgender service members say their military experience has looked nothing like the portrayal of them in the political arena.”— Meet the Ex-Men
The Foundation
The assumption gained traction through tales of sudden realizations among 30-year-old war heroes. These stories suggested they had been assigned the wrong gender at birth, making the idea seem plausible at first. Critics argue this ignored alternative explanations, such as fetishes, and the incoherence of lifelong deception. [1] Trans troops had passed as tough men for decades, which supporters said proved their innate identities. Mounting evidence challenges this by highlighting how such claims implied their prior lives were elaborate lies, demanding instant acceptance of the new narrative. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (2)
“Because New York Times subscribers have almost never been informed by the NYT of other, more plausible reasons, such as a certain sex fetish, why grown men might suddenly insist they are women, readers have been indoctrinated into believing that when various 30-year-old war heroes announce they are women, that’s because they were incorrectly assigned the wrong gender at birth.”— Meet the Ex-Men
“And the fact that they’d clearly fooled the entire world for 30 years by putting on this fraudulent 24x7 tough guy act is just another reason why you must believe every word they tell you now, although you must also believe that their first 30 years of life were all a lie.”— Meet the Ex-Men
How It Spread
The New York Times played a key role in spreading the assumption starting in the late 2010s. Its profiles reached subscribers without mentioning other possible motives for transition. [1] These articles indoctrinated readers by presenting the innate identity story as the only explanation, sidelining dissent. Growing questions surround whether this one-sided coverage helped entrench the idea in public discourse. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“readers have been indoctrinated into believing that when various 30-year-old war heroes announce they are women, that’s because they were incorrectly assigned the wrong gender at birth.”— Meet the Ex-Men
Resulting Policies
The Trump administration moved to bar transgender troops from service in 2017. The New York Times portrayed this policy as misguided, citing the combat records of trans veterans as proof they had always been women inside. [1] Critics argue the coverage influenced debates by framing the ban as contrary to proven military effectiveness, though the assumption remains debated. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Meet the Trans Troops the Trump Administration Is Barring”— Meet the Ex-Men
Harm Caused
The assumption led to tensions in feminist circles by the late 2010s. It created ideological conflicts where arguments against gender stereotypes clashed with demands from transitioning veterans to fulfill those stereotypes as evidence of womanhood. [1] Growing questions surround whether this eroded coherence in gender discussions, pitting anti-stereotype views against claims of innate identity. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“This of course raises the question of the incoherence of progressive ideology. Feminists have forever been arguing, not unreasonably, that you can be a real woman without fulfilling every feminine stereotype. But then the ex-men came along and quickly got the whip hand over the feminists by arguing that if you don’t check off every single trait on the Michael Jordan Checklist of Utterly Self-Confident Manliness, then you might well really be a woman in your soul”— Meet the Ex-Men
Downfall
Skepticism began to build by the early 2020s, with policy pushbacks highlighting flaws in the narrative. Critics argue this exposed underlying delusions, prompting the New York Times to adopt a more defensive tone. [1] Mounting evidence challenges the assumption through these shifts, enabling potential rollbacks, though the debate persists. [1]
▶ Supporting Quotes (1)
“Lately, we are making progress in rolling back this spasm of collective delusion. The New York Times, for example, is not on the offensive like it was in 2013, but is now playing defense. Hopefully, the Trump Administration won’t get distracted by other topics, but will keep up the pressure on this winning issue.”— Meet the Ex-Men
Sources
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[1]
Meet the Ex-Menopinion