Bree Fram

Bree Fram (born 1979) 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. In 2026, Fram ran in the 2026 U.S. House election for Virginia's 11th congressional district.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Career Military Fram worked as an astronautical engineer and lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force until 2023. She served as an active duty officer in the United States Space Force at the Pentagon, becoming a colonel in January 2024. Fram is the first transgender woman to be promoted to the rank of colonel.

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. 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. She later announced that, per the president's executive order, she was being forced to retire from the military. 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. 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. She had previously served for eight years in other leadership roles within the organization. In 2024, she co-authored the book Forging Queer Leaders: How the LGBTQIA+ Community Creates Impact from Adversity. She is running as a Democrat. Due to expected redrawing of Virginia's congressional districts, Fram announced that she would run for whichever district her residence is placed in for the 2026 U.S. House election. She was placed in the 11th congressional district and is running against incumbent Congressman James Walkinshaw in the Democratic primary. Her campaign is running on improvements to federal government services, strengthening national security, foreign diplomacy reform, LGBTQ+ rights, Veterans support, less government interference in local schools, and economic improvements. On May 13, 2026, she announced that she was ending her campaign.

Personal life Fram lives in Northern Virginia. She was diagnosed with a rare form of abdominal cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy to treat it. She transitioned while in a command position, serving through the re-imposition of the transgender military ban from 2019 to 2021.