Bree Fram

Last updated

Colonel
Bree Fram
Col Bree Fram.jpg
Fram in 2025
Personal details
Party Democratic
Website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service
Years of service2003–2026
Rank Colonel
Battles/wars
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Engineer
  • Activist
  • Writer
SpousePeg Abrahamson
Children2

Bree Fram is an American astronautical engineer, transgender rights activist, and retired military officer. She served in the United States Air Force during the Iraq War and was deployed to Iraq and Qatar as part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Fram later served as an officer in the United States Space Force and, as the first transgender person to be promoted to the rank of colonel, she was the highest-ranking transgender officer in the United States Armed Forces. She came out as a transgender woman in 2016, while serving in a command position, and served through the re-imposition of the transgender military ban from 2019 to 2021. Fram co-led the United States Department of the Air Force's LGBTQ+ Initiatives Team and, from 2021 to 2023, served as president of the military transgender advocacy nonprofit organization SPARTA Pride. She was forced to retire from the military in 2026, following President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14183 that barred transgender people from serving in the armed forces. On January 20, 2026, Fram announced her candidacy for the United States Congress.

Contents

Background and education

Fram's maternal great-grandfather, Ludwig Hirsekorn, served in the Imperial German Army during World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st class. [1] [2] During the Third Reich, Ludwig was persecuted by the Nazis for being Jewish and fled from Germany to France and then to the United States. [1] [2] His son, Fram's maternal grandfather Fred S. Hirsekorn, was the youngest first sergeant in the European Theatre during World War II, earning two bronze stars and refusing a battlefield commission for valor in order to stay with his soldiers. [1] [3] Fram's paternal grandfather, Paul Fram, was the son of Ukrainian and Latvian Jewish refugees and served as a United States Army Signal Corps officer during World War II. [1] [4] She also descends from a member of the House of Burgesses, who served in the Virginia General Assembly in the 1650s, and from patriots of the American Revolutionary War. [1]

Fram is from Mendota Heights, Minnesota and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in 2001. She earned a Master of Science degree in astronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 2007 and a Master of Arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in 2021. [5]

Career

Fram worked as an astronautical engineer and lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force until 2023. [6] She served as an active duty officer in the United States Space Force at the Pentagon, becoming a colonel in January 2024. [7] Fram was one of the highest-ranking out transgender officers in the United States military and the highest ranking transgender member of the United States Department of Defense. [7] [8] Fram is the first transgender woman to be promoted to the rank of colonel. [9]

She served in a research and development command position for United States Air Force security cooperation activity in Iraq and was deployed to Iraq and Qatar as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. [10] [5] She also served in the Air Force Directorate of Strategic Plans as a legislative fellow at the United States Capitol on the staff of Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo. [8] She is a co-leader of the United States Department of the Air Force's LGBTQ+ Initiatives Team. [5]

Fram served as president and board chair of SPARTA Pride, an advocacy nonprofit organization for transgender military personnel, from April 2021 to April 2023. [7] [11] She had previously served for eight years in other leadership roles within the organization. [7] She was awarded the LGBTQ+ Annual Recognition Award for Engineering by Out to Innovate in 2022.

Fram worked as an editor of the 2021 book With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Troops in Their Own Words and its 2025 sequel, With Valor and Visibility: The Next Chapter of Transgender Service in 2025. [12] In 2024, she co-authored the book Forging Queer Leaders: How the LGBTQIA+ Community Creates Impact from Adversity. [12] In October 2024, Fram was included in Out's Out 100 list recognizing LGBTQ+ people for their achievements. [9]

In March 2025, Fram spoke out against President Donald Trump's executive order barring transgender people from serving and enlisting in the military. [13] [14] On June 6, 2025, she announced she had been placed on administrative leave, pending separation, under the Defense Department's new ban on transgender service members. [15] [16] She later announced that, per the president's executive order, she was being forced to retire from the military. [17] Fram's retirement was commemorated, along with Lieutenant Colonel Erin Krizek, Commander Blake Dremann, Sergeant First Class Cathrine Schmid, and Chief Petty Officer Jaida McGuire, at a ceremony hosted by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on January 8, 2026. [18] The retirement ceremony was presided over by retired U.S. Army General Stanley A. McChrystal and featured remarks from Congressman Mark Takano, Congresswoman Sarah McBride, retired Major General Tammy Smith, and Shawn Skelly, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management. [19] [18]

On January 20, 2026, Fram announced her candidacy for Congress, filing in Virginia's 11th congressional district. [20] She will be running as a Democrat. [21] Due to expected redrawing of Virginia's congressional districts, Fram has announced that she will run for whichever district her residence is placed in. [22]

Personal life

Fram lives in Northern Virginia. [7] She and her wife, Peg Abrahamson Fram, have two children. [23] She was diagnosed with a rare form of abdominal cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy to treat it. [24] Fram came out as a transgender woman in 2016. [24] She transitioned while in a command position, serving through the re-imposition of the transgender military ban from 2019 to 2021. [7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Honoring the Retirement of Transgender Troops and the Courage of LGBTQ+ Servicemembers". YouTube . 8 January 2026. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Hirskon, - Fred Escaping Nazi Germany". The National WWII Museum . New Orleans, Louisiana . Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Fred S. Hirsekorn". St. Paul Pioneer Press . St. Paul, Minnesota. 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "World War II Honoree World War II Veteran Paul Fram". World War II Memorial Registry. World War II Memorial . Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Transgender colonel claps back at Libs of TikTok attacks". www.advocate.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. ↑ Shapiro, Ari; Caldwell, Noah (26 March 2018). "Transgender Air Force Officer On Trump's Ban And Supportive Fellow Troops". NPR.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bree Fram". SPARTA. 2 August 2024. Archived from the original on 21 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Bree Fram". www.aiaa.org. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  9. 1 2 "The 2024 Out100: Col. Bree Fram". www.out.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  10. ↑ Fram, Bree (3 February 2025). "Opinion | What's Lost if the Government Pushes People Like Me Out of the Military". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ Detow, Scott; Janse, Alejandra Marquez; Ermyas, Tinbete (29 January 2025). "Trans servicemember says 'we will do the best we can" amid Trump proposed military ban". National Public Radio . Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  12. 1 2 "About Me". BreeFram.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  13. ↑ Fram, Bree (10 March 2025). "When it comes to Trump's transgender military ban, 'surrender is not an option'". The Advocate . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  14. ↑ "Once accepted, trans troops face dismissal from US military". France 24 . 11 March 2025. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  15. ↑ "Pentagon removes outspoken Space Force officer from post as trans ban takes effect". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  16. ↑ Sitton, Drew (8 November 2025). "Highest-ranked transgender officer speaks out in San Diego as she prepares to leave military". Times of San Diego . San Diego, California . Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  17. ↑ "A 'devastating' toll on the servicemember". American Legion . Indianapolis, Indiana. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  18. 1 2 "VIDEO & PHOTOS: They Served With Honor: Human Rights Campaign Hosts Retirement Ceremony for Transgender Servicemembers". Human Rights Campaign . 8 January 2026. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  19. ↑ Wiggins, Christopher (10 January 2026). "Gen. Stanley McChrystal presides over historic farewell for five transgender troops forced into retirement". The Advocate . Retrieved 13 January 2026.
  20. ↑ "Pushed out by Trump ban, retired Space Force Colonel seeks to become second openly transgender member of Congress". WUSA . Washington, D.C. 20 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  21. ↑ Kraft, Sébastien (20 January 2026). "Col. Bree Fram, a transgender servicemember forced out under Trump, planning Northern Virginia congressional bid". Inside Nova. Woodbridge, Virginia . Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  22. ↑ Wiggins, Christopher (20 January 2026). "Ousted under Trump's trans military ban, retired Space Force Col. Bree Fram launches bid for Congress". The Advocate . Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  23. ↑ "Top Trans Officer Bree Fram on the Military, Marriage, and Joining Space Force". The Daily Beast. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  24. 1 2 Wildman, Sarah (10 March 2025). "I'm A Transgender Colonel. Trump Wants Me Out". The New York Times . New York City . Retrieved 11 March 2025.
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