Trump’s order to push out transgender troops, issued late Monday night, was instantly condemned by an array of activist groups as exceptionally egregious and ultimately harmful to military readiness. They say transgender people have been serving successfully for years, including openly on and off for the past decade.

By the time Nicolas Talbott, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army reserve, checked on the incoming texts buzzing on his smart watch, he found dozens of messages waiting for him. Talbott, a transgender man who took his oath of enlistment in March,