Transgender Marine speaks out against Trump's ban on trans servicemembers

The military community in San Diego has deep roots and a rich legacy of service.

The military community in San Diego has deep roots and a rich legacy of service. Now, there’s a small fraction of those in uniform who are being told they can no longer represent the country, and their next steps are unclear.

More than 100,000 active duty personnel are based in San Diego County, with around half of those at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, according to its website. That is where Sye Savoie is currently based. They are a Marine Corps captain, currently within Wounded Warrior Battalion West, and have served for seven years.

They also identify as nonbinary, under the transgender umbrella. “I realized that [about myself] circa 2020, so about two years after I commissioned as an officer,” Savoie told NBC San Diego.

However, it was much earlier in life, growing up in a Catholic community in Atlanta that Savoie set their sights on being a Marine.

“A lot of the people in my community were Marines. Whether it was people I went to church with or people that were, like, running for city council and they were revered by the population,” Savoie said. “Not only were they revered, it was with good reason. These folks were kind, empathetic, strong, powerful leaders that also led with a graceful hand and I saw that the way my parents and my community turned to them in times of trouble, or for advice, and I wanted to be that rock and that touchstone for my community.”