Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

Blood Rank


Guest Caroline Anne

Recommended Posts

Guest Caroline Anne

Hey Girls and Guys!

Let me tell you what happened last weekend. I finally got promoted to CW2! Wahoo! I'm so excited! I was sooo tired of being a W01 "spot".

My orders got published in November, but my chain of command didn't pin me until last weekend. So, we wear ACUs now, and everything that goes on the uniform now has velcro. Well, all except the badges...anyway, the rank also has velcro. For those of you who don't know what blood rank or blood wings is, let me describe... in the old days, your rank pinned on to your uniform. When you would get promoted, they would un-pin your old rank and push your new rank through your uniform without putting the backings on the pins. Then, as a show of machismo, you would get pounded on the rank to give you what was known as blood rank

Fast forward to last weekend when my commander velcro'd my new rank on. He pushed it into place, then in slow motion I saw what he was fixing to do. (Our rank is in the center of our chest now). Regardless, I saw what was fixing to happen and I flinched. I knew that I really couldn't take a fist to the chest. He would kill my boobs if that happened and would have to call the medics to get me off the ground. So, naturally I flinched backwards. So, while I am moving slightly backwards, he hits me and I go stumbling backwards three steps. I probably looked like the biggest lightweight in our unit.

This was in formation and I was standing at attention in front of my squad. Bummer. We had a good laugh at that and then got back to work.

Me? I was just happy to not have been hit left or right of center.

In any case, I'm a CW2 and they really can't touch me. I'm part of the Warrant Officer mafia now, watch out. :)

I'd give anything to be able to get out now, though. 2 years 5 months until Caroline can live.

Caroline

Link to comment

Congrats Caroline!

Ahh, yes I remember gettin pinned very well! So did you ever get pinned like they do in the cav? Everyone in the formation with the same rank as you just got pinned with got to 'set' your stripes... Ouch! Making spec4 really sucks...

<3

Elena

Link to comment
Guest Caroline Anne

Never like that Elena. I probably would have panicked. :)

My two most recent branches are Aviation and Signal. Aviation could care less about alpha male domination rituals (except for who can fly under bridges or the crossed swords in Baghdad without getting killed) and Signal, the biggest bunch of nerds and polar opposites of the alpha male to wear a uniform.

Link to comment
Guest Donna Jean

.

That never happened to me in the Air Force .....

Interesting concept.......

If someone had "pinned" me when I was in 'Nam, I probably would of shot 'em......lol

Hang in the, Honey......hopefully the time will go fast.....

(There were no W/O's in the Air Force......do you get saluted, flipped off or what?"

Dee Jay

Link to comment
Guest Caroline Anne

Sometimes not saluted, but never flipped off. Warrants are too mysterious for public displays of aggression like that. People think we have voodoo and altars. All warrants except pilots, they are envied.

It's funny, all ranks will defer to the Warrants. Even upper commissioned will say: "uh, just go and do whatever you Warrants do. We'll call you when we need you." also, if there are any disagreeable duties or leading of details, we can bow out with the "I have some Warrant officer stuff to do". Works like a charm.

However, we had best have the answers when called upon. It's our a$$ and credibility if we don't. That's enough to keep all the Signal Warrants I know, up at night making sure they have knowledge of every aspect of their domain.

Link to comment
Guest DanielleH

I remember getting blood rank when I made spec 4, the second time around, lol. It was about a week before we left to go over to Bosnia. What's really bad is that almost the whole squad was spec4, we had one PFC. Ouch. My colarbones were so bruised for a week after that, that wearing my LBE was sore.

Link to comment
Guest Gina9223

In the Navy when I first started they would 'tack' on your 'Crow' (Petty Officer rank). When I made 2nd Class (E-5) just about the entire squadron tacked it on. Like, so many that when the two heavy hitters (one of them was 6'8", the other simply knew how to punch a hole in anything barehanded) came along...well, after they took their turns my arm blew a nice ugly set of hemotoma's. Then Tail Hook happened and they accidently killed a guy in P'cola during a hazing event. Sooo.... I thought all of that was offically, offically banned?

And congradulations on your advancement. And just so you know, Outserve is working with/for Trans inclusion in the active duty US Military.

Link to comment
Guest Amanda Whyte

As Gina said, they used to tack on your Crow in the Navy. It is very against the rules so much so that people are now getting written up for just doing a good job tap on the shoulder. When I made E-5 though they were still doing it and while I didnt get a hemotoma like she did I did have a nice bruise. One thing that a lot of enlisted sailors work on is their ESWS, Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist. You get a pin to wear on your uniform, and when I earned that I got the pound-it-into-your-chest treatment and had several holes in my chest when it was done.

Link to comment
Guest Michellewhois

;) DJ here's you history lesson for today... :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm not sure who the last person to receive an Air Force warrant was, but I do know the last to leave active duty was CWO-4 James H. Long, who retired in 1980. CWO-4 Bob Barrow, who retired in 1992, was the last Air Force Reserve Warrant Officer on the rolls.

The good news is the Air Force was looking at the possibility of reactivating the warrant officer program just last month. Still more good news is the fact that the Air Force never relinquished authority to appoint warrant officers. They just haven't exercised that authority in 50 years.

As for pinning, I guess I got linked up with people that knew about the old brown shoe days. I got pinned the day I left flight training. Took a week for the bruises to fade and two weeks for the two little holes to heal. ;)

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   6 Members, 0 Anonymous, 99 Guests (See full list)

    • Ladypcnj
    • Mmindy
    • Vivelacors
    • Adrianna Danielle
    • MaryEllen
    • Ashley0616
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.8k
    • Total Posts
      770.2k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,103
    • Most Online
      8,356

    BUGFIEND
    Newest Member
    BUGFIEND
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Bobbijean
      Bobbijean
    2. Bryan
      Bryan
      (61 years old)
    3. jlw5ju
      jlw5ju
      (27 years old)
    4. ladykirabellum
      ladykirabellum
      (47 years old)
    5. Lizzie17
      Lizzie17
  • Posts

    • Ladypcnj
      Trump thinks he's the chosen one.. chosen to do what?   
    • Ladypcnj
    • Birdie
      Shopping at the mall today and helping out at Torrid I excused myself to the restroom. The manager told me the restroom at JC Penny was much closer (I normally use the family restroom in the food court).   Upon arrival I discovered that JC Penny doesn't have a family restroom, it's either or.   The men's room was occupied with customers, and me going in with large breasts, long hair, and makeup was going to cause a stir, so I opted for the woman's room instead. I was the only one in the woman's room.    Texas state law does state that your must use the restroom that matches your chromosomes, and it's a misdemeanor to not do so, but it seemed to be the best choice (I really needed to go!)  
    • Ashley0616
    • ClaireBloom
      My avatar is from a T-shirt that I am just dying to buy.  Maybe soon....
    • Lydia_R
      I had some guy grab my butt on the ship.  I don't know how "real" it was, but I did not enjoy that at all.  Also did not enjoy the hazing I saw other people going through.  One person can only do so much to stop that when there are 10 people doing it.
    • Lydia_R
      Here is a legible copy (hopefully):    
    • Lydia_R
      I pulled this out of a stack of old military mementos yesterday.  I guess I didn't realize how cool this one was because I did so much of this kind of thing back then.    
    • Lydia_R
      This internet video thing is pretty amazing.  I'd call it Zoom, but there are other platforms out there.  I prefer Zoom over Teams because Zoom puts me and everyone else in the same picture.  I like seeing the whole group in one shot.  Teams of course is about having so many people that you can't get them in the shot, or is it?   Just saying that I have never met any of my counselors in person.  Doctors, of course I have and I am lucky there.  They are 3.5 miles from my house as is the main transgender surgery place in town.  I've been doing virtual visits with the medical doctors lately though.  It feels like once I became steady state, they don't need to interact with me physically that much.  I have enjoyed going into their office in my nice clothing.
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      I guess a lot depends on where you start and where you wanna end up.  For me, doing the "boy form" thing has come with disadvantages.  Smaller skeleton, thinner bones, and skinny/tiny everything.  I'll never be taken seriously.  I guess the advantage is that my way of blending in is just kind of confusing.  "Mommy, is that a boy or a girl?"    One of the biggest arguments for starting transition early in life is I think it gives a person a greater ability to pass.  My two MtF friends started early, and pass really well.  They never got to the larger bone structure, beard, deep voice stuff.  Me being intersex (which is more complicated) and not getting around to "boy form" until my 30's, my body size and features were pretty much set in stone.      You're lucky.  Some folks pay all that and more, even AFTER insurance.  One of my friends faced the choice last year - pay for her final year of college or pay for her meds.  She's taken a year off from college to work and save up money to finish.    My medical expenses have been more injury-related than therapy or medication   The state covered some of it with a fund for crime victims, insurance covered a lot, but there's ended up being a few thousand dollars spent out-of-pocket since 2022 to put me back together again.  I've never found a decent therapist, but my husband has a psych degree among other things, so I figure talking with him is almost as good.  I do have a good doctor, although I have to drive a long way to a big city to see her.  Mostly she takes a basic look at me, and writes another year's prescription.  Since I'm non-op and only using testosterone cream for a localized effect, its pretty simple stuff. 
    • Lydia_R
      I'm a tracker and I've paid for 100% of my transition costs out of pocket.  Counseling was a huge, huge part of my transition and well worth my money.  Not to be uppity about all of this.  I'm just sharing information I have because I have it and it may be useful for others.  Here is my analysis of my spending on transition over the last 2.5 years:   Medical Doctors and Blood Draws: $2,397 Counseling: $3,800 Medications (brand name): $2,702.85 Medications (generic): $485.39 Total: $9,385.24   I picked up on the internet early in transition that transition is a consumer activity.  I tend to agree with that.   This year (Jan - May 18th, 2024), I've spent: Medical Doctors: $102 Medications: $241.52 Total: $343.52   So I'm on a much more sustainable path with it.  I'm pretty happy with where I am with it, although I do still desire surgery and am nervous about how that will all unfold.  But my doctors have me on this steady state thing.  I could seek out other medications, but what I'm doing is good enough.  Oh, I'm missing something....  I did a bunch of electrolysis that didn't appear to have any effect.  I've always enjoyed shaving and I use pink shaving cream now (I've got some lipstick blond in me).  It's good enough.  Not sure if I'll do electro or laser in the future.  The need to shave my body has become less and less.  Before HRT, I was shaving my body weekly or even every 5 days.  Now it is more like 2-3 weeks.  Everyone's body hair is different.  My beard is very coarse and stiff while my body hair has been somewhat minimal and light.  It's nice to have smooth legs and not have to shave as much.   Counseling was $200/session.  I tried one or two counselors before I found one who resonated with where I really was.  When I was prescribed HRT, I didn't fill the prescription until 4 months later.  I had to take some time to decide that I really wanted to take on that lifetime financial commitment.  And of course the possibly negative health consequences too, but I think I was actually thinking more about the finances of it all.  Maybe 51%.   I did a lot of work to revitalize my career before jumping into medical transition.  I started counseling 3 months before I got the best paying job of my life.  The pressure of wanting to transition was so great that I couldn't wait any longer.  She was coming out.  Even though I had very little money, I splurged on some nice dresses and a full length mirror and then started counseling.  Sometimes you just have to move forward and hope for the best.  Other times it is better to wait and do some hard work.  The grace of it all..
    • Ivy
      And when the pressure is released it sucks in heat.  I had a regulator leaking and it was covered with ice.  It's how a heat pump works as well.   Why do they always pick names like this?  It's like the exact opposite of what it really is. I hate politics so much.  But I still have to follow it.
    • Lydia_R
      Wonderful!  This reminds me of a discussion I had with my brother a decade ago.  I said that things expand when they get hotter.  He said, no, they expand when they get colder.  And I had to think about that for a while.  The weird thing is that H20 is special in that when it reaches freezing, it expands.   The pressure makes the cold and then we see the condensation.
    • KatieSC
      I used to have a really good therapist, however, she does not accept health insurance reimbursement fees as they are too low. I had to pay 130 per session. When she decided to jack the rates to 185 per hour, I cut bait. Without a doubt, counseling is very helpful. What concerns me greatly is that we are a vulnerable population. Unfortunately, we can easily be targeted for some pretty high fees. How many of us have been in the situation where our healthcare provider, surgeons, or counselors, have required cash payments? We get jammed as well by the health insurance companies as they often will not pay for items that could be essential to our well-being. It is my contention that our chances of being targeted for violence, death, or harassment, go up when we cannot easily blend in with the female population.    For those of us that are MTF, some of us are blessed with more feminine features, and many of us are not. We get the whammy of a larger skeleton, bigger hands, bigger feet, a beard, a deep voice, and masculine face. It takes a lot for some of us to be able to blend in. My belief is that the better we blend in, the better chance we have of not being targeted. In this, electrolysis, facial feminizing/gender affirming facial surgery, voice/speech therapy with voice feminization/gender affirming voice surgery, and body contouring are all potentially lifesaving. Unfortunately, many of the insurance companies deem the procedures as cosmetic, and yet there is no cosmetic that fixes all of these issues.    If you pay your money, you can get anything you want in this world. The sad reality is that for us, many of these procedures would enhance our lives tremendously, yet we face ongoing battles with our very existence. Yeah, an empathetic therapist helps, but is it just the concept of reasonable empathy at a reasonable cost? When my therapist jacked her rates to 185 per hour, I said enough is enough. Your mileage may vary.
    • awkward-yet-sweet
      I don't think the temperature matters as much.  Think about how gases like CO2 are stored in cylinders, and they are basically the same in summer or winter.  Any gas becomes liquid under enough pressure.  What does matter is the strength of the pressure vessel.  If exposed to excess external heat, pressure increases and can burst a tank or a pipe.  Household propane tanks are often painted white or silver and have safety release valves, because sunlight can heat a tank enough to cause a significant increase in internal pressure, even though the contents remain liquid. 
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...