Posted on Oct 22, 2014
Transgender Service Members: Serving in Silence
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Despite the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010', transgender people are still banned from serving in the military. To this day, if it is discovered that any service man or woman identifies as a transgender, he or she would be separated from serving. Do you think this is fair? Should transgendered individuals be accepted for military service?
Policy
Transgender
LGBTQ+
Command Post
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 249
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If they are willing to fight for their country and protect others rights. I don't see it as a problem this country is judgemental and bias at times they never look at the big picture.
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Soooo much for the land of the free...i mean really if a person. ..any person wants to voluntarily lay down their life for the freedom of a country whose sole purpose is to bring it to all"so they say" then why should it matter? A bullet doesn't know sexuality, neither does a m4 or hand grenade
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SGT (Join to see)
Which they can SPC Erika Cantrell, studies have shown that there may be at least as many as 15,000 currently serving closeted transgender service-members and possibly a lot more. Fact is that this is the same sort of situation as with homosexual service-members. People were crying about how it's horrible and how they would negatively effect the force, all while forgetting the fact that they were already in, living the standard, fighting alongside their brothers and sisters, and otherwise having no incidents above the rate of the average soldier.
Transgender military members have been recorded in U.S. military history as far back as the civil war. So I say let them serve.
Transgender military members have been recorded in U.S. military history as far back as the civil war. So I say let them serve.
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SPC Erika Cantrell
SGT Adam Travis, in case you are unaware i am speaking from the standpoint that they can, as i am transgender, and i served honerably for 5 years
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well ummmmm I'm straight and serving in silence...by the way....has article 125 been repealed yet....I'm ready to get a freak on
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I've seen a lot of talk back and forth on this lately, almost too much, but I did want to stress a couple of things. 1. There is a huge difference between acceptance and tolerance. While I have gay friends and know gay troops and am very tolerant to their lifestyle, that doesn't mean I accept it as moral or professional behavior. In addition, just because you can openly say you are gay, it doesn't mean that a flood gate has been lifted and you can act flamboyant and talk about what you want to do to this troop and that troop. I've seen a lot of that since the DADT repeal and it's still sexual harassment and unprofessional and wrong. Again. Tolerance VS acceptance. 2. Transgender doesn't mean gay. I know many transgendered people who are still attracted to the opposite birth sex. Having said that. There are no transgendered people serving in silence. Are their soldiers and sailors that practice it out of uniform, identify themselves as other than their sex or feel they should have been born differently? Absolutely. I'm sure their are. However, regardless of that fact we don't have males dressing in female uniforms or women using male latrines because that's who they identify with. The simple fact of the matter is this: it's the military. The rules are as they are before you go in. It's a voluntary force. If anything you should identify yourself as transgendered and sign a waiver specifying that you will not practice it IN UNIFORM (as in being a different sex than yours while on duty etc.). Also you shouldn't get medical coverage for what amounts to cosmetic surgery. I can't get a lipo on the Tri care dime, then the same holds true for those that want to change their sex. That is on them. Not on the government or the military. 3. If we were to allow openly transgendered service members then no playing both sides of the fence. If you want to be a man then you perform at the male standard. If you were born a man, well too bad. You do it at the male standard too. Hahaha. 4. The simple fact is when it comes down to it, are the benefits outweighing the negatives? Is it divisive or counter to good morale and discipline? Does it build or destroy esprit de corps? Does it hurt our strength and our ability to defend this great nation? Because I got to tell you, end of the day, your preferences take a huge back seat to the security and welfare of the whole! If 1/2 of 1/2% of your body became cancerous in the form of a small tiny tumor and it was making the organism sick, and was risking that organisms survival, you wouldn't hesitate. You would excise it immediately. The military is an organism. If we were to find that transgender and other fringe elements within the service became detrimental to that service, should we hesitate? I'm not saying they ARE, in saying we need to look at whether they WOULD BE. would we be able to muster a large and strong force if we allowed it? Should we now allow open adherents to the KKK in the service? They are practicing their constitutional right to free speech. Gang members? Other hate groups? Peace Corps? Conscientious objectors? Would our recruiting numbers plummet? Would retention bottom out? Again. The military's mission is to defend our country. If we cannot accomplish the mission by doing this, then it has no place.
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LTJG (Join to see)
You bring up some good points, many of which are accurate. However, there are definitely service members serving in silence. Just because they can be more like themselves out of uniform does not mean that they are not silent. While they might be able to dress and express themselves out of uniform, they are not allowed to change their bodies to make them a better, more complete person. Also, there actually are a few currently service members who are transitioning or have transitioned, and are living as themselves e.g. MTF service members passing and working as female and FTM service members passing and working as male. These people are a very small minority because it takes incredible courage to do that. Yes it is against the rules, but for many of those people, the only other options lead to depression and sometimes suicide. They risk being discovered every day and are constantly stressed that they will be kicked out. Having transgender service members is absolutely possible because they are already serving. A change in the policy is needed to secure their jobs and keep them from being kicked out. Based on the experiences of the other countries around the world that have open transgender service, allowing that would not be detrimental to the military or its mission. The only part of this whole situation that is negatively affecting the mission is the stress put on transgender service members because they are constantly hiding and having to lie about who they really are. Remove that, and the mission goes on and can only be accomplished better than before.
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SFC(P) (Join to see)
Sorry. Disagree. I am extremely tolerant and liberal but if someone came through my schoolhouse and I check all their records, if it's says male and they are female or vice versa, I would get to the bottom as to why and I would start processing them out. The majority of the service finds it distasteful, so it is contrary to team building, good morale and discipline and so is detrimental to the Corps. No place for it. If you truly feel you need to be a different sex than you were born then do not join the military. Serve in another capacity. As a civilian, or USO or some other support. And if they are serving currently and lying about it then they lack integrity, honor and personal courage. Both hallmarks of the army values. Especially if they are post op previous to joining and lied about it all. My opinion. And before someone likens this argument to what was used back when, regarding segregation in the service, be it racial, gender, or ethnic, the difference is people are born black or Chinese or white. They are born male or female. Predominately they are born gay or straight. In this case someone wants to change themselves. To surgically alter their sexuality. It comes down to if you want to be different than you are then you need to choose. Military or Sexuality. Can't do both.
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I have a hard time with this one. For one, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is beyond question a "pre-existing medical condition" that the military is well within their rights to list as a disqualifying factor.
This is where the clarity about the issue ends. I'm not very knowledgeable about the specifics of the disorder, but I know it takes some people a long time to realize that their life-long struggles with self-image and body are actually GID. If I had a congenital heart disease that wasn't caught until I was 5 years into my military career, the military still has the obligation to treat that disease, even while they gather the paperwork for my discharge. The SAME goes for mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia. I'm on the fence as to thinking GID is a disorder that's compatible with military service... I lean towards "no". However, I definitely think that as a recognized disorder, it should be treated if a service member is diagnosed with it.
This is where the clarity about the issue ends. I'm not very knowledgeable about the specifics of the disorder, but I know it takes some people a long time to realize that their life-long struggles with self-image and body are actually GID. If I had a congenital heart disease that wasn't caught until I was 5 years into my military career, the military still has the obligation to treat that disease, even while they gather the paperwork for my discharge. The SAME goes for mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia. I'm on the fence as to thinking GID is a disorder that's compatible with military service... I lean towards "no". However, I definitely think that as a recognized disorder, it should be treated if a service member is diagnosed with it.
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SGT (Join to see)
It is no longer Gender identity Disorder, it is Gender Dysphoria. Just like homosexuality is no longer considered a disorder, neither is being transgender. Society is moving forward, it is the inescapable fact of history that the military will move along forward with it. and as for them not being compatable for military service, tell that to the over 15,000 people currently serving honorably who are closeted transgenders (living as birth gender, not changed or anything like that) or the tens of thousands of out and open transgender veterans who had to hide their identity while serving, but otherwise performed admirably and retired as decorated veterans. Gender Dysphoria does not effect one's ability to serve.
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I just came across an article in USA Today the VA treated 2,567 veterans for gender dysphoria in 2013. This was cited in another article dated December 24, 2014. I run veteran reintegration programs in North Carolina and elsewhere, and I was told recently there has been a significant enough increase in veterans coming out with respect to gender issues (not sexuality), that the VA has increased the availability of care to meet the need. Issues include service members completing celebrated tours and careers, only to finally come to grips that their gender identity issues were driving their desire to convince themselves otherwise.
I am just putting out information shared with me that comes from medical sources.
I am just putting out information shared with me that comes from medical sources.
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I don't think the problem is them serving openly. If that were the only problem we could solve that tomorrow. LGBT SM have been serving for a while. I believe the difference between LGB and Transgendered SM is the cost.
What if a kid wakes up 2 years into a 4 year contract and decides he's transgendered? What if he wants gender reassignment surgery? Are the Services expected to pick up the cost? I say all of this believeing that there will be a policy sooner rather than later that allows transgendered people to enlist and serve openly.
How to you enlist or access a transgendered person? What do the medical forms at MEPS look like? If a person knows that they are transgendered before they enlist should they tell the MEPS doc? Will there be a waiver required? Will there be an addendum to the contract that states the applicant will not seek medical treatment for gender dysphoria (mental or physical) while serving the contractual part of the MSO? All things to consider, ladies and gentlemen.
What if a kid wakes up 2 years into a 4 year contract and decides he's transgendered? What if he wants gender reassignment surgery? Are the Services expected to pick up the cost? I say all of this believeing that there will be a policy sooner rather than later that allows transgendered people to enlist and serve openly.
How to you enlist or access a transgendered person? What do the medical forms at MEPS look like? If a person knows that they are transgendered before they enlist should they tell the MEPS doc? Will there be a waiver required? Will there be an addendum to the contract that states the applicant will not seek medical treatment for gender dysphoria (mental or physical) while serving the contractual part of the MSO? All things to consider, ladies and gentlemen.
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CPT Zachary Brooks
I've been eating Army chow three meals a day, every day for a year. I get diabetes. Does the service incur the costs?
I am working as a medic and assist civilians on the battlefield that are injured. I contract HIV. Does the service cover it?
Should they?
I am working as a medic and assist civilians on the battlefield that are injured. I contract HIV. Does the service cover it?
Should they?
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CPT (Join to see)
Above my pay grade Zach... but my opinion is that any malady that the Army gives me while in service... yes.
I probably used a bad example with the kid. My understanding is that people know they are Transgendered from a very early age. You read stories all the time of 5 year olds whose parents are dressing them up like the opposite sex because their kid identifies with that sex. That's fine. Just let them get the surgery before they enlist/access into the military. Come into the Service with no confusion on that score.
I probably used a bad example with the kid. My understanding is that people know they are Transgendered from a very early age. You read stories all the time of 5 year olds whose parents are dressing them up like the opposite sex because their kid identifies with that sex. That's fine. Just let them get the surgery before they enlist/access into the military. Come into the Service with no confusion on that score.
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This is going to be an issue sadly. For a values based organization like the army to change old rotted values is not going to be an easy one. I still think that the repeal of don't as don't tell was a bad idea it has now opened up this kind of issue and this is not the stuff that we should not be worried about as an army we should be worded about training solders and preparing for the next conflict the next deployment securing our boarders. not making someone happy so they can be in the army and still do what they want to do. conform to the army values or get out stop trying to change them so you can do what you want to.
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SGT (Join to see)
Values themselves change. The military has a mixed history of being ahead or behind the curve when it comes to forward social movement, but in this case the military is behind. Society is slowly recognizing that it's OK to not be typically gender binary, the military will inevitably follow, whether it's members do so willingly . . . or they're dragged along kicking and screaming.
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