The U.S. Army has removed the San Antonio-based commander after a right-wing podcaster repeatedly accused her of being a transgender activist.
The U.S. Army has removed the San Antonio-based commander after a right-wing podcaster repeatedly accused her of being a transgender activist.The U.S. Army has removed the San Antonio-based commander of a top military medical site after a right-wing podcaster repeatedly accused her of being a transgender activist and demanded her firing, Col.
Elisa O’Hern, a physician who headed the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston, has been taken from that position after a little more than a year on the job, according to the daily. While she’s still on active duty, her bio has been scrubbed from the website of the institute, the U.S. military’s only dedicated burn center, the paper also reports. O’Hern’s removal comes after right-wing influencer Chase Spears — an Army veteran and self-described “Christ-follower” and “family guy” — fired off multiple tweets calling for her firing for showing support for the LGBTQ+ community. Spears first targeted O’Hern in a March 2024 tweet in which he shared an undated photo of the Army officer — apparently off-duty — wearing face paint in the rainbow colors of the Pride flag and a button identifying herself as an “Ally.” In the pic, O’Hern also wears a T-shirt reading, “I don’t care how you were raised, unlearn that shit.” “I look forward to the day when the military will no longer tolerate open wickedness from its officers,” Spears fumed in his tweet. “This is U.S. Army Lt. Col. Elisa O’Hern, a physician who advocates for the trans agenda, and fraudulently interfered with religious accommodation requests.”claiming in a tweet that the Army officer was promoted to her command role even though she’s an “activist for #transgender ideology.”, this time triumphantly announcing the Army had booted O’Hern from her command. The podcaster thanked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell and Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. “We WILL recover the U.S. Military, some days by inches, other days by miles,” Spears added. “Stay motivated. We have much more work ahead.”he wants the the Pentagon to move beyond “wokeness weakness,” which includes “no more dudes in dresses.”on MAGA influencers to reach voters in last year’s election, the administration has also displayed a willingness to give those voices outsized influence in its decision making. For example, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer hasIn comments to the Express-News, an Army spokesman downplayed O’Hearn’s departure from the leadership role, saying personnel can be rotated out of command positions after 12 months on the job under current regulations. He denied further comment on the matter. However, Spears was willing to speak to the daily and took a victory lap over O’Hern’s removal. He admitted he didn’t know the former commander but added that the opinions she expressed in her “ally” photo made her unfit for her role. “Transgender ideology has always been opposed to what the military is about, which is preserving the Constitution, preserving the basic virtues and values of this nation,” Spears told the Express-News. Spears also told the Express-News he’s aware that U.S. military rules allow personnel to express political opinions when off-duty and out of uniform. Still, he asserted that O’Hern’s action had somehow crossed a line. “We as military members still retain some right of expressive agency, but there are still rules of decency,” he said. “There’s certain things you cannot go out and advocate for, even in your personal capacity, and not expect there to be professional repercussions.”Senate Bill 8, which now heads to the House floor, would restrict which bathrooms in government buildings transgender people would be allowed to use.Finger made the gory remark at a public hearing over a Republican-backed bill that would restrict trans people’s usage of public restrooms.Since 1986, the SA Current has served as the free, independent voice of San Antonio, and we want to keep it that way. Becoming an SA Current Supporter for as little as $5 a month allows us to continue offering readers access to our coverage of local news, food, nightlife, events, and culture with no paywalls.Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...This wacky San Antonio-area mansion for sale has its own ice cream parlor and a pool table that used to be a car
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