How would you, as a leader, address a Service Member with gender identity issues?

SSG (Join to see). I would urge them to work with their family, friends, clergy, and therapists . . . try to find some way . . . any other way . . . to resolve their issues . . . and I'd tell them in no uncertain terms about the many charlatans, quacks, and worse who will be very happy to take their confidence, faith, and money . . . and ultimately abandon them to suicide. I would not treat this as a matter of political correctness . . . this is a life and death emergency. Sandy

p.s. For every transsexual "star" I can assure you there are dozens on dozens of total disasters.

As someone who regularly is contacted for help by SM's who identify as LGBTQ+, I would highly recommend the first thing is to demonstrate and verbalize to them that you value their integrity for bringing up their struggle to you. This is one of the most crucial points for individuals who "come out" or are battling gender identity. (Studies show that they are 8x more likely to be suicidal at this phase of their journey.) Second, tell them that some of the best confidential care will come from a trained individual and that you will help them begin that process. Military OneSource (http://www.militaryonesource.mil) is an excellent, free way for them to begin the conversation that needs to occur. They will ask a brief series of questions to link the SM with a licensed counselor who specializes in that category. Third, I would be very cautious about involving a Chaplain. My experience is that it presents more hurdles later on rather than help since many Chaplains do not have specialized training in this arena and there are very few religious faiths that are understanding/accepting. It is not a discussion about surgeries, tax dollars, or ethics. It is about helping a SM serve with honor, courage, respect, and integrity. If they want to pursue their journey, it may be best for them to serve their term and then pursue what they feel is the next step in their journey. Finally, help them realize that you are not relieving them of their obligation, but rather will help them be the best they can be because they have chosen to serve.

As this is not my area of expertise, I would counsel the soldier that this area is unfamiliar/uncomfortable for me and refer them to appropriate medical/counseling personnel. Although I accept that gender identity is a current topic of interest (Caitlyn/Bruce Jenner and Pvt Manning), I have no professional opinion on the matter. I do have a personal opinion on the matter but it is irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

As a leader, I am gender neutral. My sole focus is performance and fitness for service. I am the same with regard to sexual orientation, country of origin, race, religion and any other method of dividing an organization. Although I believe we have gone over board on the EO Consideration of Others/Sensitivity training, I understand that we cannot hide from our differences. But we cannot let the focus on these differences tear us apart (which I believe it is doing).