Kara Corcoran

Kara Corcoran
Personal details
Children2
EducationNorth Attleborough High School
Norwich University
Awards
Parachutist Badge
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service
2008–2025
RankMajor
Battles/warsOperation Enduring Freedom

Kara Corcoran is an American retired military officer. She was forced to retire from the United States Army in 2025, following President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14183 banning transgender people from military service. Corcoran is the vice president of SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit organization focused on the rights of transgender troops.

Early life, family, and education

Corcoran grew up in North Attleborough in a German-Irish Catholic military family. Her father was a 1972 graduate of the United States Military Academy, her mother was an Army brat, and her grandfather was a sergeant major. Corcoran's sister, Natalie, is also transgender and served as a lieutenant colonel in the army.

Corcoran graduated from Norwich University, where she was in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, in 2008.

Career

Corcoran was commissioned into the United States Army in 2008 and served for eighteen years, including two deployments to Afghanistan. She also attended the Ranger School and Airborne School. Corcoran was a company commander and platoon leader and earned a Ranger tab. She served a 600-soldier tank battalion stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas as a battalion executive officer, and was an instructor at the Maneuver Captains Career Course.

Corcoran involuntarily separated from the Army in 2025, following President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14183 which banned transgender people from military service. She faced a separation board hearing at Fort Leavenworth in Leavenworth County, Kansas.

In 2025, she served as the vice president of SPARTA, a nonprofit organization focused on the rights of transgender service members and military recruits.

In July 2026, she was interviewed on ABC News about her life, military career, and views on Pete Hegseth's forced verification of testosterone levels for military personnel.

Personal life

Prior to coming out as a trans woman and transitioning in 2018, Corcoran married and had two daughters. She and her wife later divorced.

She played with the Denver Bandits, a women's national football team, for three seasons.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taborda, Noah; Ruiz, Elizabeth (May 9, 2025). "Trump's transgender ban is forcing this Kansas officer out of the Army: 'Damn this hurts'". KCUR-FM. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Greenfield, Beth (June 22, 2023). "These military sisters used to be brothers: 'Our situation is so unique". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 King, Trish (February 3, 2025). "Service Beyond Gender: Major Kara Corcoran's Leadership Amid Renewed Challenges". Modern Military. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Irizarry, Jaleesa (May 11, 2026). "'No fair shake': Army Major loses separation board hearing, forced out over gender dysphoria diagnosis". KUSA. Denver, Colorado. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  5. ↑ Kraske, Steve; Ruiz, Elizabeth (May 13, 2025). "This Fort Leavenworth soldier plans to keep fighting against Trump's transgender ban". KCUR-FM. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  6. ↑ Mohan, Megha; Eldin, Yousef; Eastaugh, Sophie (July 1, 2025). "Transgender pipo for US military dey 'in survival mode' as ban on dia service start". BBC. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Bauer, Laura (July 31, 2025). "She served in a war zone. Now a Trump-era ban set to end her military career". Kansas City Star. Kansas City, Missouri. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Video Judge questions Pentagon about testosterone policy". ABC News. 2026-07-24. Retrieved 2026-09-23.
  9. ↑ Irizarry, Jaleesa (May 14, 2025). "Former Coloradan among service members to be discharged due to transgender military ban". KUSA. Denver, Colorado. Retrieved September 9, 2026.