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PRIDE Month may have ended in June, but I reflect on the incredible gift that occurred five years ago.
Five years ago, the Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stepped to the podium and announced open service for transgender individuals. I cried. Big crocodile tears. I was so overwhelmed with the breakthrough of freedom at that moment.
In an instant, I no longer had to hide. I no longer had to fear who might find out my secret. To whom can I trust this? What about my kids and might they inadvertently say something innocently to a friend, and in that innocence, end my career? When I was investigated for my security clearance, the investigator and I danced around whether or not I would reveal this (at the time) career-ending information in order to be honest. I did and waited with fear, apprehension, and uncertainty. As it turned out, in that case, my fears were unfounded - yes, the investigation had sussed out my secret, but to answer whether I could be blackmailed with that secret, they were satisfied that I could not.
Five years.
With that announcement, everything got easy, right? Certainly! and... no. In some ways, it became more difficult. I went from one of a crowd to an example. There were standards, and then there were standards to ensure that I didn't let my transgender advocates and comrades down. That I didn't lend voice to vile rumors and lies about the capability of transgender individuals to serve their country.
I had no way to know that in just thirteen months, I and all of my fellow transgender Servicemembers would be 'fired' by my Commander-in-Chief. By Tweet. I remember how that felt in a campground deep in rural Minnesota as I learned that the fear was back. Did I have a job? Did I have a future? What awaited me when I returned from vacation?
And so that hung out there... those of us already 'out' were allowed to hang on to our jobs, while no more could come in. The message to the Force was clear - just wait, and eventually, they'll all be gone.
A few years later, I still had my job. Not everyone did, including one notable superior.
Lawsuits were filed. Policies argued. Targets felt clearly upon one's back, and in some cases, even more assuredly on one's forehead. Hatred was given permission. It became *more* of a struggle to be out in the hostility than perhaps it had been to be closeted in the first place.
Which fear is more gripping?
And then, open service was restored. First, by Executive Order 14004. That was a magnificent day. It was an amazing feeling, and Servicemembers know this, to *know* that your leadership 'has your six'. Over the ensuing months, the policies were developed, and soon, by June 2021, we were able to successfully return to where we'd started - five years previous.
In that time, I have made many more connections, grown in my personal and professional lives, and my area of influence has grown demonstrably. I've developed a new sense of mission to ensure that as my time in the military comes to an end, that those who follow behind me will have fewer issues and be more able to concentrate on the mission embedded in our oath - "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
I couldn't be prouder.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?412040-1/defense-secretary-ashton-carter-lifts-ban-transgender-service-members
Five years ago, the Secretary of Defense Ash Carter stepped to the podium and announced open service for transgender individuals. I cried. Big crocodile tears. I was so overwhelmed with the breakthrough of freedom at that moment.
In an instant, I no longer had to hide. I no longer had to fear who might find out my secret. To whom can I trust this? What about my kids and might they inadvertently say something innocently to a friend, and in that innocence, end my career? When I was investigated for my security clearance, the investigator and I danced around whether or not I would reveal this (at the time) career-ending information in order to be honest. I did and waited with fear, apprehension, and uncertainty. As it turned out, in that case, my fears were unfounded - yes, the investigation had sussed out my secret, but to answer whether I could be blackmailed with that secret, they were satisfied that I could not.
Five years.
With that announcement, everything got easy, right? Certainly! and... no. In some ways, it became more difficult. I went from one of a crowd to an example. There were standards, and then there were standards to ensure that I didn't let my transgender advocates and comrades down. That I didn't lend voice to vile rumors and lies about the capability of transgender individuals to serve their country.
I had no way to know that in just thirteen months, I and all of my fellow transgender Servicemembers would be 'fired' by my Commander-in-Chief. By Tweet. I remember how that felt in a campground deep in rural Minnesota as I learned that the fear was back. Did I have a job? Did I have a future? What awaited me when I returned from vacation?
And so that hung out there... those of us already 'out' were allowed to hang on to our jobs, while no more could come in. The message to the Force was clear - just wait, and eventually, they'll all be gone.
A few years later, I still had my job. Not everyone did, including one notable superior.
Lawsuits were filed. Policies argued. Targets felt clearly upon one's back, and in some cases, even more assuredly on one's forehead. Hatred was given permission. It became *more* of a struggle to be out in the hostility than perhaps it had been to be closeted in the first place.
Which fear is more gripping?
And then, open service was restored. First, by Executive Order 14004. That was a magnificent day. It was an amazing feeling, and Servicemembers know this, to *know* that your leadership 'has your six'. Over the ensuing months, the policies were developed, and soon, by June 2021, we were able to successfully return to where we'd started - five years previous.
In that time, I have made many more connections, grown in my personal and professional lives, and my area of influence has grown demonstrably. I've developed a new sense of mission to ensure that as my time in the military comes to an end, that those who follow behind me will have fewer issues and be more able to concentrate on the mission embedded in our oath - "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
I couldn't be prouder.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?412040-1/defense-secretary-ashton-carter-lifts-ban-transgender-service-members
LGBTQ+
Equality
Pride
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Transgender
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 47
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Must respectfully disagree. I don't disrespect transgenders but many questions come to mind like if they're fit for duty-especially combat and if they are serving for the right reason. I've heard that there are people joining up to get a free sex change from the government and getting out after 3-4 years while being non-deployable almost the whole time.
Just sharing a thought not looking to start an argument. Again I say this respectfully
Just sharing a thought not looking to start an argument. Again I say this respectfully
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SGT Aaron Miller
Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen, The problem is So-called Trans individuals are non deployable, so what use are they to the Military? The Military is becoming a joke, and the worst part is the WOKE OFFICERS running the Military Circus.
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PO3 Edward Riddle
SGT Aaron Miller - Finally, someone who thinks like me. Remember what that Great Man said: Liberalism is a mental disorder. It's a great book also.
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SGT Aaron Miller
PO3 Edward Riddle, Totally true, Liberalism is a Mental disorder. Look at people like General Milley and Admiral Gilday. More worried about WOKENESS that Military readiness. China’s Military isn’t worried about WOKENESS, they are worried about strengthening their Military to take out the United States Military. We need to get back to being a Military and stop this WOKE BS.
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SFC Lyle Green
MAJ (Join to see) - The Royal Navy captured German U-boat U-110 on May 9, 1941, in the North Atlantic, recovering an Enigma machine, its cipher keys, and code books that allowed codebreakers to read German signal traffic during World War II. The captured Enigma decoder they captured had 3 dials of encoding encryption capabilities. Less than 6 months later, NAZI Admiral Karl Donitz felt the Enigma had been compromised, he then ordered a 4th. decoding wheel to be installed on all new enigma decoders. This rendered it impossible for the Allies to decode and the original 3-wheel enigma was worthless. The capture of the original enigma was May 9, 1941, almost 4 years before Germany Surrendered, May 8, 1945. Mr. Turing and Bletchley Park, England's decoding headquarters were never able to break the new 4-wheel enigma code. So, it was brawn, skill, weapon innovation and human ability that caused the defeat of Germany.
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What business does the United States government, or the Armed Forces, have celebrating what God calls sexual perversion??? I am not a hater. I love people, but I do not love or tolerate the June 'celebration' of lesbianism, male sodomy, cross dressing, or any of the other alphabetically manufactured substitutes for what God established in His word. God hates pride. In fact, He said in Proverbs 16:18 that "Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Is that what our government wants for these people? Destruction? A fall into worse sin? Our government needs to wake up and get real!!
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Col Keith Maresca
SrA Michele Burgman - So based on your rationale, it is fine if two children have sex, an adult and a child have sex, someone has sex with an animal. I strongly suggest you rethink your response.
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SFC Lyle Green
Strange, once upon a time the UCMJ condemned and prohibited bestiality and homosexual in the same article that labeled those not fit or not acceptable for military service. (The writers of said Uniform Codes of Military Justice could never imagined the other "alphabet soup" letters of perversion descriptions that would one day pop into existence). Yet as the progressive cancer of moral, social and spiritual insanity grew, so as the deviate and perverted mindset of being "socially accepted" (or else) malignantly spread to infect all voter seekers (politicians) to outwardly seem supportive of such madness. Never entertaining the consequences of their faked support, seeing only the gain of power and control of the numbers they could acquire at the voting polls. Truth is difficult to accept for the weak minded, God made all men equal is a fact. The choices men make determines all else, of their strength, abilities, goals, character, perseverance, attitudes and moral standards. Once the greatest, mightiest, militaries of not only this country but countries of the world, never sought or saw the value of equality in its members. For the military advantage, was a cook equal to a General? Was a 35% efficient PT score equal to a 95% efficiency score? Is a 4 min. runner of a mile equal to a 15 min. runner of a mile? Could an E2 successfully be expected and depended onto lead a 100-man company equally proficient as a fully trained, experienced Capt. in combat? A 350lb. S.E.A.L. operative be depended on to man a 6-man pontoon boat? Any military that attempts to wear the cloak of equality is doomed. This is the situation today, if one care to find out the truth and facts instead of depending on some demigod agency or taking points medians that report with the agenda mongers direct them to spew. If a major conflict or war was upon us, the only forced Pride celebrations would be to welcome our conquers. In your rainbow bras. pink ODs, and orange calvin kline boots. Cuss me all you like, as we use to say in Vietnam.."don't mean nuttin".
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Having served many years and now retired - going back to Vietnam in a helicopter gunship, I served with individuals of varied backgrounds are sexual preferences as well as all the races. Ascribing to Heinlein - "I dont care what you do with your plumbing, as long as you do your job..." When that changes and the personal foibles of a person or group of people interfere with the mission, then it doesn't belong in the mix. The goal of the military is to kill people and break things in wartime. A peacetime military has less to do and all sorts of social issues present themselves, ie, when the first Gulf War came along, service members were whining and crying about being deployed - they joined up for the bennies and didnt want to leave 'home' to do their jobs - tough!
Guess what? The bennies are that, they are not the JOB. If you have a medical condition - as being HIV positive as was during my service term - you were NOT deployable. If in a combat slot, you were moved into a non-combat one.
Needing special meds each day to maintain your gender makes you UNdeployable. Getting an operation also takes you out of the loop for how long? I dont know but it sure isnt a week or so. Add to that all the counseling and readjusting to life will take some time. THAT is why the last President decided to keep the military mission 100% combat oriented. He also had members of the LGBTQ community on his staff and in his administration.
If in a combat zone and supplies get cut off, or your unit gets cut off, or you get shot down, you will get sick when the meds run out. Now what? You think our current enemies will be sympathetic towards you?
YOU are then a BURDEN on your fellow service members. If the current administration wants to guarantee meds then they are taking that responsibility. I wish you the best with that, it's a tough row to hoe, fraught with many physical, emotional and social hurdles.
Joining the military to JUST get special operations is not what the military is designed to accommodate. It takes funds away from service members and families and veterans medical care.
I have family members and extended family members that include; gay, lesbian, bisexual, transdgender and 'muliti-gender' - am not sure what they are talking about yet with the last one.
I love them all.
The mission of defense of the country comes first. If you let anyone or any group influence you to the contrary- then you've lost sight of the real mission. Without this country there is no freedom anywhere in the world.
Guess what? The bennies are that, they are not the JOB. If you have a medical condition - as being HIV positive as was during my service term - you were NOT deployable. If in a combat slot, you were moved into a non-combat one.
Needing special meds each day to maintain your gender makes you UNdeployable. Getting an operation also takes you out of the loop for how long? I dont know but it sure isnt a week or so. Add to that all the counseling and readjusting to life will take some time. THAT is why the last President decided to keep the military mission 100% combat oriented. He also had members of the LGBTQ community on his staff and in his administration.
If in a combat zone and supplies get cut off, or your unit gets cut off, or you get shot down, you will get sick when the meds run out. Now what? You think our current enemies will be sympathetic towards you?
YOU are then a BURDEN on your fellow service members. If the current administration wants to guarantee meds then they are taking that responsibility. I wish you the best with that, it's a tough row to hoe, fraught with many physical, emotional and social hurdles.
Joining the military to JUST get special operations is not what the military is designed to accommodate. It takes funds away from service members and families and veterans medical care.
I have family members and extended family members that include; gay, lesbian, bisexual, transdgender and 'muliti-gender' - am not sure what they are talking about yet with the last one.
I love them all.
The mission of defense of the country comes first. If you let anyone or any group influence you to the contrary- then you've lost sight of the real mission. Without this country there is no freedom anywhere in the world.
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