New TBLG Military Group SPARTA Emerges From OUTServe-SLDN Drama

In the wake of the contentious drama that ensued after the ugly implosion of OUTServe-SLDN last month and the drama in BTLG World concerning what exactly did happen with former director Allyson Robinson, a new TBLG military advocacy group has arisen from the smoldering ashes of OUTServe-SLDN.

The newly minted organization is called Servicemembers, Partners, and Allies for Respect and Tolerance for All (SPARTA) and formed July 22. 

SPARTA said in a statement they “are a membership organization, built by, for, and with members from all parts of our community.”   The trans community is represented in SPARTA's ranks following the decision of the Transgender chapter of OUTServe-SLDN to leave that organization to join SPARTA.

"Since the upheaval at OutServe-SLDN began on June 22, the transgender chapter of the organization has been working to determine where and how we can best fit within the movement," wrote Brynn Tannehill, the chapter spokeswoman for OutServe-SLDN's Military Transgender Group in a statement.

"This process has been painful, and strained personal and professional relationships that had previously been strong… The ultimate question we had to answer was where we need to be in order to most effectively move the issue of open service for transgender people forward. Unfortunately, it was the considered opinion of our members that OutServe-SLDN will not be able to represent our interests effectively for the foreseeable future."

Meanwhile the troubles continue to mount for OUTServe-SLDN with the announced July 31 closing of its Washington DC offices and reports it is near bankruptcy.

The initial SPARTA leadership team according to a post by The New Civil Right Movement's  David Badash includes:

Carl Able, USMC

Karl Alvarez, Air Force veteran

Jase Daniels, US Navy

Tanya Domi, Army veteran

Tania Dunbar, US Army

Christopher Hooper, US Navy

Jeremy Johnson, Navy veteran

Mark Mazzone, US Army

Beth Schissel, Air Force veteran

Julianne Sohn, Marine Corps veteran

Brynn Tannehill, Navy veteran

SPARTA has a Facebook page up and the website is being constructed. 

The other question being asked by many in the trans community is whether Allyson Robinson has been asked to join SPARTA or if she will have a role with the nascent organization.  

There also isn't word as to whether SPARTA will extend an invitation to TAVA, the decade old Transgender American Veterans Association to either join their ranks or work in partnership with them in future projects designed to speed up the day in which transperson can openly serve their country.  .

Welcome SPARTA.  May you live long, prosper and be wildly successful in your mission of advancing the cause of TBLG service members.

Allyson Robinson's Statement To OS-SLDN Members, Families and Supporters

TransGriot Note: Here's the statement from OutServe-SLDN magazine of Allyson Robinson to the members, families and supporters of the organization.   What I said in my earlier post still stands. Allyson got screwed, this stinks, and I detect the rotten stench of transphobia in this situation.   TAVA, step up, salute and handle your business, please.

On 24 June 2013
This weekend’s events were most unfortunate and deeply troubling for many of us, but for my part, as from the beginning of my tenure with this organization, I am fully and firmly committed to our LGBT service members, veterans, and their families and to their fight for equality. For that reason, and to honor those who’ve shared those values with me, it is my intent to continue to lead OutServe-SLDN in the near term as we approach an historic moment for our community and our country. After that, at a date to be determined, I have decided of my own accord to step down, and will work with our members to ensure an orderly transition to the next phase of this organization’s life.


Very few people ever get the opportunity in this life to hear from those whose lives they’ve touched just how much they are loved and respected. I have no words to express my gratitude for the hundreds who have reached out to me privately or stood up for me publicly over these last 24 hours to show their support: from the military community, the LGBT community, and most especially, most dear to me, the troops of OutServe-SLDN and their families. For that, I am blessed beyond measure.

In light of the momentous events the coming days hold for us all, I intend to put this matter behind us and look forward to shifting the focus back to where it belongs: our LGBT service members, veterans, and families, who sacrifice so much every day, and their ongoing fight for full equality.
— Allyson Robinson, Executive Director, OutServe-SLDN

Allyson Robinson Ousted As OutServe/SLDN Exec Director

Back in October I was happy to trumpet the news of Allyson Robinson's groundbreaking hiring as the executive director of the merged OutServe/SLDN.   Allyson also became at that time the first trans person ever to be hired as the head of a national Gay, Inc org whose primary focus is not centered on trans human rights issues. 

Today the trans community and our allies are stunned to hear the news via the Bilerico Project that after only nine months on the job Allyson Robinson has been ousted as the head of OutServe/SLDN after a board coup.  

A new executive director for an organization is usually given a year to immerse themselves in the culture of the organization and implement their policy and procedural direction, so this unexpected firing of Robinson triggered the resignations of OutServe/SLDN senior staff, several board members and growing outrage in the trans community. 

I've been wary of OutServe/SLDN based on how military transfolks got thrown under the Humvee in the runup to the 2010 DADT repeal and questions about their cultural competency to articulate the issues facing trans military personnel and veterans.  

It also revived the perception in the trans community that OutServe/SLDN only cares about GL military people and isn't on board with helping the trans community end the ban on trans military service so that we can openly serve in our country's military.

It also put a renewed spotlight on TAVA, the Transgender American Veterans Association and the status of the ten year old organization in the wake of founding president Monica Helms' recent retirement.

It also plays into the larger problem that Gay, Inc orgs are cricket chirping silent about in terms of the glaring lack of visible trans feminine leadership in their ranks and the suspicion of trans people that GL transphobia is playing a major role in that invisibility. 

Don't even get me started about the lack of trans women of color in Gay, Inc organizational ranks.

That perception is only going to ossify with this highly public dismissal of a groundbreaking trans leader and the ongoing turmoil and drama it has unleashed in its wake.

Robinson said at the time she was hired as the OutServe/SLDN executive director, "We cannot stop until we reach the day when all qualified Americans who wish to wear the uniform of our armed forces have the opportunity to do so with honor and integrity – and without fear of discrimination or harassment – whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”

Their ouster of Robinson after only nine months on the job leads the trans community to legitimately ask if there is rampant transphobia in the organization.   It also leads us to ask the more pertinent policy question of just how committed OutServe/SLDN is to the mission of ensuring that like GLB Americans, transgender Americans can serve their country with honor and distinction.

TransGriot Update:  Denise Brogan Kator was the first transperson to ever be hired as the ED for a Gay, Inc org not focused on trans human rights issues when she became the head of Equality Michigan.