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ABC's Under Review Doc Explores How Trump's Military Ban Affects Trans Service Members

ABC's Under Review Doc Explores How Trump's Military Ban Affects Trans Service Members

Evan Simon/ABC News
Evan Simon/ABC News

“I didn't want to believe that a tweet had that much weight on our life.”

Next Thursday, November 16, ABC will release a new documentary titled Under Review, exploring the real-life impact of Trump's military ban on trans service members, specifically a trans woman in the Coast Guard and a trans man in the Air Force.

Sterling Crutcher is an airman first class and munitions technician operating at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, LA, active since 2015. All his life he's wanted to serve in the armed forces, following in the path of his beloved grandfather. Crutcher is also transgender, so he's become unsure of his and his family's future in the wake of Trump's announcement of a trans military ban.

Related | OUT100: 9 Transgender Veterans Talk Service, Trump & Fighting Back

On August 25, the White House released an official presidential memorandum giving Defense Secretary James Mattis a deadline of February 21, 2018 to implement the ban, returning "to the longstanding policy and practice on military service" keeping openly trans people out of the military.

Reacting to Trump's ban on Facebook, Crutcher wrote: "I put on this uniform every day not for praise or adoration. Not for some free healthcare. I do it because it was ingrained in me as a child by my grandfather. He spoke so highly and proudly of his years of service in the army. I joined because there is a sense of pride you get from serving your country and fighting for your neighbors."

With his family in limbo, Crutcher's become the subject of ABC's Under Review.

"I didn't want to believe that a tweet had that much weight on our life," says his wife, Aimee Crutcher, in a clip from the forthcoming doc. "I told my husband, 'Don't worry, it's just a tweet.' I think we both knew deep down it was going to become more than that."

Take a look at Crutcher's clip, below.

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