Despite a fresh new foreign war and rumors of a draft, a local trans man with bipolar disorder, Jake Lewis, kicks his feet up tonight knowing that he is totally, legislatively — and proudly — unfit for military service.
The Squeaky Wheel spoke to Lewis, who wanted to openly share his thoughts on freedom and safety. “When trans people were banned from U.S. military service in 2025, that was a rough blow. It was blatant transphobia, systemic exclusion, and disrespectful to trans veterans. However…” Lewis leaned back with a look of satisfaction, “you gotta admit that it’s kind of working out for me right about now. To be ineligible to serve in a ‘war of choice’ is a great honor.”
Further preventing any military adventurism is his well-documented and well-treated bipolar disorder. “I’ve never been more stable, but the fact that I’ve sought treatment is a mark on my record. I guess they only want the untreated ones.”
Lewis pointed at his expertly broken-in Doc Martens. “See these bad boys? They’ve seen a lot of things, but what they won’t see is ‘boots on the ground.’ I will forever be doubly ineligible!”
It is Department of War policy that people with mood disorders are excluded from serving, as well as trans people via Executive Order 14183: “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.” A spokesperson for the White House reported, “This policy has obviously made the U.S. armed forces super excellent and really, really ready.”
The White House, itself the home of a cis and untreated man, continued: “We will throw anything against Iran, but there will be no trans service members, no mentally ill people in treatment — and needless to say, no men with brutally debilitating bone spurs.”