When, Not If, Will We See Open Transgender Military Service?

Except for the thousands of service members currently serving who do have prescription medications that do not disqualify them. The military gets those meds to them, even in Afghanistan. Why wouldn't it be able to throw in some hormones for the few trans soldiers too? Great Britain hasn't had any trouble getting hormones (which are actually quite cheap) to their transgender soldiers deployed around the world since they opened trans service in 1999.

Here Here! But I'm an a$$hole by nature so I derive some pleasure out of the name-calling. ;) JOKE!! It IS a dilemma, but an unnecessary dilemma at best. What ever became of standards for psych evals? Clearly anyone who is unhappy with their natural born identity and feels it necessary to alter their plumbing is psychologically unbalanced. But apparently someone has infiltrated and changed the standards for that definition as well.

Hi Rick. You and I usually agree. But I'm not with you on this one.

I think you are the confused one AiC Devaney

First off the military has one job to defend this great nation. This is not the place for social experiments, you are dealing with real lives. This being said if you are confused in anyway some can get killed. The military is not a game, you need to be able to make snap decisions, any hesitation soldiers can die. This being said if you are confused about gender and your emotions this is not the job for you. Humans have 23 sets chromosomes female XX male XY these are the only determiners of sexuality. There is no third sex. You may change the outside but you are still male or female you can not change your DNA. You sexual preference is just that your preference. LGBT only makes up about 3% of the Population, that means 97% is not. Out of that .01% is what you would call Transgender. Now take into effect that only 1-3% of the total population of the US in any given time is serving in the military. What do you think is the percentage of LGBT in the military? So why are they forcing their lifestyle on others. This is what is wrong with your way of thinking. You are a young troop that has a lot to learn about leadership. You have to have discipline and be able to conform. The trouble with this generation is you do not want to change your ways, you expect others to conform to your ways. Learn from those who have come before you and listen to them. We have reason for what we have done, you need to sometimes not question but do.

SGT Ricky Young - Ricky, I have several responses to your post, above. You have written, "We have reason for what we have done. . . ." 1) What was the reason to have separate units of whites and blacks? 2) What was the reason that the U.S. government sent Civil War Black soldiers to fight Native Americans, hoping to destroy both so there'd be no need to deal with racism and civil rights of minorities? 3) Being Str8 or GLBT+ is NOT a "sexual preference." The correct usage is "sexual orientation." "Sexual preference" suggests a degree of voluntary choice, whereas "sexual orientation" of GLBT+ is NOT a choice any more than "sexual orientation" of Str8 is a choice. When a Str8 asks a GLBT+ when s/he chose to be GLBT+, a correct response is, "When did YOU choose to be Str8? 4) You wrote, ". . . .you do not want to change your ways. . . ." Sexual orientation is NOT a "way." A question to you is, "Can YOU change your way? Can you change from Str8 to GLBT+?" And 5) "You are a young troop. . . ." Well, I am a 78 year old and age actually has nothing to do with anything.

SGT Ricky Young Here's one for you. My psychiatrist now has to ask me if I'm straight. This has become way out of control. Just because someone else is mixed up and can't figure out what bathroom to use. LGBTQ is 3% of the population and demanding the other 97% to except there confusion.

Sgt Andria Houston - Andria, thank you for your post; it's excellent! A "leader," whether military or not, comes to understand the kinds of people whom s/he is leading. Rather than fearing and then hating out of fear, a "leader" remains rational, reads about, and discusses sexual diversity with those who know. A "leader" does NOT use words such as one R.P. "leader." He said that transgender soldiers are "frivolous and fake." He didn't and still doesn't know what he's talking about. His way of irrational thinking is one way to decrease the effectiveness of the United States military!

Hi John,
I appreciate the respectful nature with which we can converse on these issues. I didn't and don't intend to minimize the struggle of transgender people, or sexual minorities in any way. That said, I still do not feel the struggles (race vs. sexual minorities) are as comparable as you appear to, simply based on the fact that transgender people can choose to expose themselves to bigots, whereas a black or brown person is judged by a bigot from afar merely based on the color of their skin, and cannot "choose" to be seen as "other". Is that something we can agree on?
Also, I feel that you have been successful in showing me the necessity of seeing the issues of sexual minorities in anaother, more differential light than I did a few days ago. I'm basically an "old-school" type of retiree, meaning I enlisted in 1979 and retired in 2003, and I've always felt that regardless of the "category" of minority, in a combat-ready military there's not alot of space for indivuality as a cause when in uniform and on active duty, and I personally do not wish for these issues (regardless of which one) to compromize the mission, as I personally feel that anything other than the mission distracts, and ultimately costs lives. I haved served alongside several homosexual troops, and I even have one of them to thank for still being alive when our vehicle got blown up. To this day I don't know where she found the strength to pull my unconcious, 6', 200 lb frame out of that destroyed vehicle in time to keep me alive. I tell you this only to illustrate that I'm not as bigoted as it may seem to you. I personally do not agree with any dividing and catagorizing of the fighting force in general, and I wish we could all simply be soldiers/airmen/sailors/marines first and whatever else we are second when conducting the military mission. I don't want to ask myself if the person who has my back is concentrating on the mission or distracted, thus risking my life, and the person whose back I'm responsible for should be able to expect the same from me.
Although I may have voted up some uninformed or perhaps even in some way "malevolent" (if so my bad- not intentional maybe) comments, that doesn't necessarily mean I agreed with all of what that person had to say, but maybe just one part that I agreed with based on my views as I've attempted to explain them to you here.
For instance, I am not generally, and in all circumstances against transgender people in society, or in the military, but in my view, it may never stand above the oath we all take, meaning there are many "logistical issues" to work through, that I feel would detract from the military mission, which is why in one comment I offered this compromize: A SM wishing to change gender identity should be allowed without affect on their record in any way, to "pause" their AD service until all medical issues have been addressed, they have their new name, and they only need medications to live happily and productively in their new identity. At that point they should be allowed to return to AD, and I suggested "in another unit", in order to prevent biased people in their COC from affecting their lives in any negative way.
You may or may not find my suggestion amenable, but that's what I think is best for military readiness and planning security.
I personally am I guess what you might call a conservative democrat, and I'm moderately religious, and a heterosexual whose been married for 40 years now. If it aids to your insight, I will add that when I say I "don't want people's sexuality shoved down my throat", it applies to all sexualties, whether hetero or LGBTQ. I believe a person's sexuality is a deeply private thing, and when in uniform, I personally only held hands with my wife at most while in uniform or in public, which she always hated, but I deeply believe there's no room for distractions from military appearance while in uniform, and/or on duty. I'm serious. I do not appreciate anyone, be they hetero or LGBTQ, putting their private life on display, thus virtually "forcing" me to observe.
I hope you can understand my opinion somewhat better now, and I wish you a great Veteran's Day.

SPC (Join to see): Hi again John,
If you don't mind, and because you've been very civil in our discussion, could you please explain something about some of the pro-"transmilitary" comments to me that I've read several times? How can statements like "history shows that we had transgenders in the military going all the way back to WWII" even remotely be true, when the drugs, hormones and surgeries have only been around since the '60's or '70's? Is my difficulty understanding such statements related to what the term "transgender" means, i.e.: is someone we called a "transvestite" in my day actually a transsexual, even without gender reassignment surgery? If so, that would explain my confusion in that respect. Thanks for any insight you can give me about that.

SPC (Join to see): One more thing, in case I caused any confusion, I always refer to myself retiring in 2003, but actually due to my medical recovery issues drawing everything out I wasn't actually officially retired until 2005. Just to clarify.

Hi Edward,

"The United States Armed Forces have a long history of transgender service personnel, dating back to at least the Civil War. Initially, most such service members were women, who disguised themselves as men in order to serve in combat roles. Many reverted to their female identities upon leaving their service, but others maintained their male identities." (This link gives you a lot of information concerning transgenders serving in the
military: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_personnel_in_the_United_States_military.)

I have to admit that I've felt uncertain and somewhat afraid when I'd see male-to-female transgenders, especially when the women have many male characteristics such as physical size, a male-looking physique instead of a female-figure, and male mannerisms such as the ways in which she walks.

Many years ago, I participated in a mental health conference and I saw a male-to-female transgender standing to herself when it seemed all others were interacting. I wish, looking back, that I'd put aside my fears and gone over and visited with her. She was well over six feet tall and looked very powerful, physically. She had on a pretty yellow dress with matching yellow high heels and yellow purse. I was afraid to go talk with her and I guess everyone else was afraid as well because she was standing well away from the rest of us. For sure, she was NOT flaunting herself on anyone! She was standing over by a stairway which was partially in shadows. She was not with the rest of us. She merely was "there."

Right now, there's a transgender who attends church where I attend. I don't go very often but I saw her one time. Again, she was well over six feet tall. From a distance, I thought I was seeing a man, but when the two of us got closer, I could see that she was a male-to-female transgender. The only difference between the one at church and the one at the mental health conference, described above, was the church-goer interacted with others and things seemed more comfortable than at the conference which was, most likely, in the 1970s.

Based upon my fears and need to distance myself in the actual, above listed transgender experiences, I can understand how many, if not most, RP members aren't accepting of transgenders in the American military (and most probably in American society in general).

I may have already mentioned that an ex of mine transitioned from male-to-female. This occurred after she and I broke up after a 17+ year relationship. Frieda was----she died on November 14, 2021 at the age of 82 years----a combat marine in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War Era. She denied PTSD multiple times and only after we parted ways did she finally admit that she had enough PTSD characteristics to be diagnosed with this horrible mental illness. I wasn't ever uncomfortable nor was I afraid to be around her. I knew her!

Frieda lived on the outskirts of a very small town in the New Mexico desert, close to the Arizona border. The few times that I'd go see her, we'd go to a restaurant at a Pilots' Truck Stop. No one "messed" with her nor me when we were out in public together, and I think others picked up on the fact that she'd beat the crap outta anyone who made a disrespectful, nasty comment.

Unfortunately, she had a massive, male physique and stood well over six feet tall. Outwardly, sadly, and physically, she looked nothing like a female. However, she wore female clothes and presented herself as a woman. Again like other transgenders, she did NOT try to "flaunt" herself. Rather, she was being, truthfully, herself.

Most transgender people do not want to bring attention to their gender. In fact, that is the last thing they want to do. Transgender service members want to serve their country, and they want to do it without fighting a constant battle inside themselves.

Allowing transgender service members to serve and to transition would not go against the uniformity of the military anymore than having both men and women serving side by side.

UCMJ will still apply, and the military will not fall into chaos.

hahahahaha has Article 125 been repealed yet? I don't know. in my humble opinion, it may not fall into chaos, you will have a morale issue. I just recently retired and was in the WTB at Carson. there was a dude there, a silly E-4 there. he walk around more female than the females would. he wear his makeup in the barracks area talking to people. I know people were getting pretty pissed at him.

Another person who does not know what they are talking about. Yea that is you PO1 Uhrig

PO1 Don Uhrig - Of course you are as the ignorant ignorance in your post cannot be hidden.

You have made yourself an obvious internet troll. Obvious by posting as "SGT (Anonymous)".

SGT (Join to see) Thank you for your ignorance. You just added more points to my profile while you hide behind your anonymous profile like a common internet coward.