The Cadet Dream of the Transgender Air Force of joining the military is waiting in the midst of Trump’s ban

Hunter Márquez had been dreaming of joining the United States Air Force since they were in high school, so after graduating from high school, they began their four years of training at the Air Force Academy in Colorado.

“I grew up with a family that loved this country,” Márquez told ABC News Live Prime in an interview that was broadcast on Thursday. “And I found my vocation with the army.”

The 22 -year -old cadet, which obtained double titles in aeronautical engineering and applied mathematics, hoped to be commissioned in the Air Force as a second lieutenant after they graduated in May, but after the Supreme Court was declared in favor of the executive order of President Donald Trump that prohibits the transgender troops of the military, Marquez’s dream.

“In the end [we] Everyone had to throw our hats in the air, and everyone had to put on their second shoulder boards, and I would keep my cadets on, because I would not be a second lieutenant, “said Márquez, recounting the ceremony on May 29, where around 900 cadets graduated from the academy.” So it was very unpleasant, because I knew my friends, all two years. Without idea what I’m going to do next. “

While Márquez worked to complete his final semester in the Academy, Trump signed on January 27 an executive order that ordered the Department of Defense to review the policy that allows transgender troops to serve openly in the army.

“Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from the sex of an individual cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service,” said the order.

The order also argued that receiving medical attention affirmed by gender is one of the conditions that is physically and mentally “incompatible with active service.”

Professor Nathaniel Frank, a historian and cultural researcher at the University of Cornell who studies the history of LGBTQ+ people in the army, told ABC News that decades of research dispute the arguments of the administration that transgender people are not in shape to serve.

“Evidence has never been found that members of the gay or transgender service present a problem to the cohesion or preparation of the unit, and that the evidence finds the opposite, that the prohibitions against trans people are what damage preparation and cohesion because they undermine confidence,” Frank said.

Frank also added that the military already have a system of controls and balances to ensure that all people, including members of the Transgender Service, are in a position to serve physically and mentally.

“The Army shows its staff at all levels, in session or commission, recruitment and then for retention purposes, deployment in combat areas,” Frank said.

Márquez, who began to make the transition during his first year at the Academy, said they approved and met all the requirements for men in the academy, including a more demanding male physical aptitude test.

“I remember talking to my commander about it because I was nervous,” said Márquez, remembering the day they took the test. “I got a better score than I expected, and I remember going to his office and I thought, Lord, I would not guess what happened. This is my score, and he celebrated with me.”

After Trump’s executive order, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memorandum in February saying that the military would begin to download the members of the Transgender Service, a movement that is being challenged by three ongoing federal demands.

“I broke crying because I couldn’t believe I had done to this point just to lose it,” said Márquez, remembering his reaction to memorandum.

The new prohibition of the Pentagon entered into force in early May, shortly after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could enforce the prohibition of transgender people in the army while the legal challenges proceed in the lower courts.

Márquez signed his name in one of the demands challenging the prohibition, becoming a plaintiff in Talbott vs. Trump

“I just saw that as my only option because I and thousands of others deserve the right to serve in the army,” said Márquez. “There is nothing to say that we cannot do our duties, that we are less than only for our gender identity.”

The Pentagon estimates that more than 4,200 active members of guard and reserve service are diagnosed by military doctors with “gender dysphoria”, which is the metric of the military to track the number of transgender troops. But defense groups have estimated that the number of transgender service members in those units is much higher, of around 15,000 of the 2.1 million.

After graduating, Márquez said they decided to embark on a backpacking trip through Europe, one that has become a soul search experience.

Márquez, who spoke with ABC News during the London stage of his trip, reflected on his trip to the transition and said that despite the challenges ahead, they would not change their decision.

“At the end of the day, the people I have met here, the officers and the faculty, have changed my life for the better,” said Márquez.

When asked where his dream is after the decision of the Supreme Court, Márquez said they still want to serve.

“If it was disappointed today that, you know, I could join the Air Force, I would take it in the blink of an eye,” they said. “I would leave everything here in Europe and go. In the end, the dream is always to be in the army.”

Luis Martínez de ABC News contributed to this report.