Out In National Security

ONS invites you TOMORROW (3/3/26) for a relaxed, gender-inclusive happy hour celebrating Women's History Month at Her Diner, co-hosted with GATT DC & WIIT.

All are welcome, feel free to bring a colleague or friend.

Cheers and see you there!

📍 Her Diner, Washington, DC
📅 March 3 | 5:30–7:30 PM

Veterans spoke up. Lawmakers engaged. The department adjusted course.

Disability compensation is not abstract. It affects housing stability, family finances, and long-term care.

Process and accountability matter.

ONS works at the intersection of readiness and belonging. VA policy shapes whether veterans feel the system honors their service.

Policy credibility matters for retention, recruitment, and civil-military trust.

Administrative changes of this scale deserve transparency and clear justification.

Veterans are not asking for a pause. They are asking for revocation.

Congress should be paying attention.

For many veterans, disability compensation is not theoretical. It reflects long-term health impacts of service.

Changing how those ratings are calculated affects financial stability, health access, and trust in the system.

More than 18,500 veterans have raised concerns about a proposed VA rule that would base disability compensation on how a condition responds to medication, rather than on the underlying injury or illness itself.

That is not a small signal.

Out in National Security will continue analyzing this issue through the lens of military strength, accession stability, and institutional coherence.

Legal rulings set boundaries. Within those boundaries, force management decisions still require leadership judgment grounded in readiness, predictability, and evidence-based standards.

Several allied militaries have modernized accession standards in line with current medical evidence while maintaining readiness and deployability. Exclusion is a policy choice, not an inevitability.

At a time when the All-Volunteer Force faces sustained recruiting pressure, narrowing eligibility without operational justification reduces capacity and complicates planning.

The question is not symbolic. It is operational.
What does exclusion do to accession stability, recruiting signals, and long-term force readiness?

Modern HIV treatment enables individuals with undetectable viral loads to live healthy lives and perform demanding professional roles without transmission risk. That medical reality remains unchanged.

A federal appeals court has upheld the military’s ban on enlistment for individuals living with HIV. This shifts the legal posture. It does not resolve the force design questions at stake.

Friendly Reminder: We're looking forward to seeing everyone tonight for happy hour at Her Diner in AdMo! And it's not too late to RSVP 🥂

For folks in DC, ONS warmly invites you to a casual happy hour next Tuesday (2/17) to connect with fellow development & humanitarian professionals.

Allies and friends are welcome. First round on us!

RSVP: shorturl.at/hYKSQ

@lfschleusener.bsky.social talks to Love Rutledge of the Fed Upward pod about how ONS supports LGBTQIA+ federal workers with programing and community, especially those being targeted by the administration.

It's a great conversation (in under 10 minutes!) which you can find here: shorturl.at/X4LlS

Looking for a break from the chaotic news with something truly personal and meaningful? Our Co-Founder
@lfschleusener.bsky.social was featured on an episode of "This Queer Book Saved My Life" about the life of civil and gay rights pioneer Bayard Rustin.

Listen here: shorturl.at/TbFqh

For some lighter weekend listening, our Co-Founder
@lfschleusener.bsky.social was featured on Gayish, a fantastic podcast Esquire says brings “a sense of thoughtfulness along with humor", as Luke guides them through NatSec news and impacts on our community

Listen here: shorturl.at/RuWL1

A reminder: Join us this Saturday @ 2pm at the U.S. Botanical Gardens 🌿🌸🌻 SIGNUP HERE: shorturl.at/2vGJs

Join us at Thee Immigrant, 341 E 9th St, New York, 4-7 TONIGHT.

If you get there early enough, you get swag.

6 - I’ll be honest, we expect a tough year ahead. It will demand steadiness, collaboration, and unglamorous work. But it makes a difference.

I'm grateful to do that alongside all of you. For more details, our full year-ahead blog post is here

www.outinnationalsecurity.org/2026/01/13/o...

5 - Build: We're expanding our organization, including the launch of the Equal Service Working Group, a small, senior cohort within our 501(c)(3)

The group will focus on three pillars: healthcare; family formation and protection, including IVF and surrogacy policy; and workplace protections.

4 - Grow: We must broaden our community. This month New York will host its first ONS event. At a time of extraordinary pressure, community is how we stay strong and safe

If you’ll be in NYC on 1/29 and would like to get involved with great like minded people, reply here and join us for happy hour

3 - For more details, check out our recently released Trans Veterans Toolkit. If you have local contacts in allied states, please reach out.

www.outinnationalsecurity.org/transgender-...

2 - Protect: ONS will continue to show up with credible information, community, and clear-eyed advocacy with agency leaders, lawmakers and staff to push for equality, readiness, and the rule of law.

We're defending healthcare for LGBTQIA+ vets, and working with state and local govs to close gaps.

Hey folks, Luke here. I’m sharing a brief look-ahead for ONS in 2026, and how you can be part of the movement.

We're grounding our efforts in a simple framework:

Protect. Grow. Build.

Botanical Garden Winter Warm-Up RSVP When: January 31 - Meet up at 2:00 PM Chase away mid-winter gloom with ONS during an afternoon visit to the US Botanic Garden. Nothing says "resilience" like verdant plants and colorful flowers in Ja...

We'll meet for coffee before crossing the Mall

Where: Le Bon Cafe, 210 2nd St SE, Washington, DC 20003. The walk to the garden is about three blocks.

We are keeping an eye on weather and transit conditions and will share updates if plans need to adjust.

RSVP here:
docs.google.com/forms/u/2/d/...

Chase away mid-winter gloom with ONS during an afternoon visit to the U.S. Botanic Garden. 🌿

Nothing says resilience like verdant plants and colorful flowers in January. And yes, it is wonderfully warm inside the gardens. 😎🌴🌸

Families are very welcome. Kids, partners, and chosen family included.

Chase away mid-winter gloom with fun and fellowship by joining ONS leaders at the US Botanical Garden. It's nice and warm inside 😎🌴🌸

When: Sat, Jan 31 - Meet at 2:00pm

Where: Gather at Le Bon Cafe (210 2nd St SE) before walking together to the garden

Sing up here: tinyurl.com/jrdhp2th