pspanNative Americans (American Indians and Alaska Natives) have a long tradition of service in the U.S. military, dating back to the Revolutionary War. In

The U.S. Army will alter the records of transgender soldiers to show only their sex at birth, according to internal guidance seen by Reuters that details a series of steps it will take as it pushes them out of the service.

2,658 likes, 46 comments - chasestrangio on May 7, 2025: "Yesterday the Supreme Court allowed Trump’s sweeping and animus-driven ban on open trans military service to go into effect. In a 6-3 order with no reasoning or written opinions, the Court opened the door to the mass expulsion of trans people from the military. This is a devastating development in Trump-related litigation but I wanted to also offer some context about the legal standards in military litigation where the courts afford wide latitude to the federal executive. That does not mean this Court is not ready to green light many forms of discrimination and executive power grabs, they are. But I wanted to at least calibrate what this particular action means in light of decades of terrible precedent around the military. When we think about concepts like “restoring the rule of law” and living under “a police state” it feels important to remember that the rule of law is itself violent and that many people have been constructively if not explicitly living under a police state here for decades and longer. Each action from each branch of government builds on frameworks that were built over centuries and our resistance will continue no matter what this or any government tries to do to us. We are undeniably facing many existential threats and also we retain our ability to love and care for each other and mobilize every day.".

A federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.

A history of the contributions of African-American soldiers from World War II to the present notes the segregation of the army until the Korean War and honors more than two dozen veterans of distinction.

By the time of the Vietnam War era, the “Mexican American Generation” had made tremendous progress both socially and politically. However, the number of Mexican Americans in comparison to the number of white prisoners of war (POWs) illustrated the significant discrimination and inequality the Chicano population faced in both military and civilian landscapes. Chicanos were disproportionately “grunts” (infantry), who were more likely to be killed when captured, while pilots and officers were more likely to be both white and held as POWs for negotiating purposes. A fascinating look at the Vietnam War era from a Chicano perspective, “I’m Not Gonna Die in this Damn Place”: Manliness, Identity, and Survival of the Mexican American Vietnam Prisoners of War gives voice to the Mexican American POWs. The stories of these men and their families provide insights to the Chicano Vietnam War experience, while also adding tremendously to the American POW story. This book is an important read for academics and military enthusiasts alike.

"Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author Richard Rhodes relates the remarkable story of the Spanish Civil War through the eyes of the reporters, writers, artists, doctors, and nurses who witnessed it. The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) inspired and haunted an extraordinary number of exceptional artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and John Dos Passos. The idealism of the cause--defending democracy from fascism at a time when Europe was darkening toward another world war--and the brutality of the conflict drew from them some of their best work: Guernica, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Homage to Catalonia, The Spanish Earth. The war spurred breakthroughs in military and medical technology as well. New aircraft, new weapons, new tactics and strategy all emerged in the intense Spanish conflict. Indiscriminate destruction raining from the sky became a dreaded reality for the first time. Progress also arose from the horror: the doctors and nurses who volunteered to serve with the Spanish defenders devised major advances in battlefield surgery and front-line blood transfusion. In those ways, and in many others, the Spanish Civil War served as a test bed for World War II, and for the entire twentieth century" --