Coast Guard Auxiliary?

[Guest Jo-88]

Ok so let me preface this by giving a tad bit of background information (look to the last line for the actual question). When I was in highschool I was in Air Force JROTC and my first year of college I went to Maine Maritime Academy. I was a member of the "regiment" on campus and I was studying to get my USCG 3rd Asst. engineer license (and I planned to join the USCG for a few years before going merchant mariner). I absolutely loved the engineering aspect of the school. However, I did not like the strict military atmosphere so I left to explore other options.

Now as we all know DADT was abolished but this sadly does not apply to trans folks. Not to mention I have little desire to actually join the military... I am happy as a clam working in the video game industry

But there is this nagging little voice in the back of my head that seems to constantly be calling me back to the ocean. I grew up in Florida, I was a fish as a kid... always surfing, fishing, skiing, scuba diving or pretty much whatever else you can do on the water. The first motor vehicle I ever learned to drive (and do maintenance on) was a boat, not a car... I love the ocean so much that I flat out refuse to live in a non coastal area, it's not even an option for me... Whenever I have to even visit a landlocked area I get anxious and feel "trapped", idk how to explain it. Maybe the whole "salt in your veins" thing is more true for me than I thought. I mean just seeing the ocean and watching the waves is like the best mood enhancer ever.

Anyway I digress... I was reading some articles recently and I learned something new. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is not like the Navy reserves, it is not made up of military personnel and its mission has absolutely nothing to do with military action or law enforcement (in fact Auxiliarists are barred from these roles, and rightfully so). However they do play a role in safety, search and rescue, communications, and engineering. Auxiliarists are strictly considered civilians, they are not bound by the military code of justice and are not entitled to any sort of benefits... it is a volunteer organization through and through. There is no firm commitment and you serve when you want to. This is extremely appealing to me! I would love to get a chance to learn some new skills, help some people out, and spend some time on the Pacific (I live in CA now).

However here comes the trans question... part of joining the USCG Auxiliary is a DHS background check and medical screening. Since my transition is in full swing right now its not something I could or would even want to hide from anyone. I would want to be myself, and those changes would be super obvious to everyone around (my coworkers are already asking questions). So to sum this up, does anyone know if transgender people are allowed to volunteer for the USCG Auxiliary?

[Charlize]

That sounds like such fun to me as well. You certainly are qualified and it would give you such a good way to enjoy your love of the sea. I don't know their policy but if i were you i'd give it a try regardless. Your background may carry you past any predigests. Perhaps another one here has experience but so far i haven't read of anyone. Best of luck! Sounds like so much fun and you'll meet interesting folks as well. My father in law was a merchant Marine captain for Waterman Steamship Co from Mobile. He always lived looking at the sea and lost his last home to Katrina. Like you, an "old" salt.

Hugs,

Charlie

[Guest Gerilynn]

Jodie,

My understanding of the USCG Aux program is you would not be barred from joining. The medical screening is to ensure you will not be injured by working on a boat or doing things while working for the Coast Guard. I am a retired USCG member and I will tell you most of my experience was with some very talented and older people in the AUX. They do assist in most missions in so many ways it is up to you and your talents. If you are working through the steps of transition and you are above board they should be open to you.

You will probably get a lot of questions because you might be the first.

Good luck and have fun.

Jeralyn

[Carolyn Marie]

I can't answer your questions, Jodie. But I met some wonderful members of the CG Aux while getting my boating safety and navigation certificates, and what they do seems like a wonderful opportunity for someone with your background and skills. Their jobs sound really interesting. So I encourage you to check further and go for it if you can. Please let us know how it turns out.

HUGS

Carolyn Marie

[VickySGV]

Jodie -- If my being Trans* doesn't make a fleas sneeze as far as my son's highest of Top Secret security clearances, I don't see how or where DHS can have a kick about you if you are up front with them. My boating education came from U.S. Power Squadron, but the fact my dad lived on a 46' power boat the last 30 years of his life meant that we dealt with USCGA people on a regular basis. A couple of times I was real happy they inspected my dads floating home because they caught safety issues that he had carelessly overlooked, and could have put him in some deep California cold water without attention.

[Guest Jo-88]

Ok! I have an official response from them. I sent a message to them last night from the website contact form. There is no restriction whatsoever for transgender people! That's awesome, I am totally doing it! I am not sure when yet... I need to buy a car first (been saving for months). But I am gonna go for it, it could be really really interesting.

[Guest CassieX]

Good Luck Jodie, It's sounds like a fulfilling career opportunity. I'm retired Navy currently working for the Navy as a civilian and it doesn't matter at all that I'm a transgender woman. In fact after my shared learning experience at work during my current RLE the job has if anything got to be more fun. As far as security clearance stuff goes, as long as you are open about who you are and can prove that no-one can blackmail you for being transgender then it should not matter at all.

Cassie

[Guest Jo-88]

Ok here is some even more interesting info for you guys. So I just heard back from a different Flotilla commander who wrote me a novel of a response (its literally 1500 words, I copy pasted it into MS word to get the word count haha). Anyway he was extremely nice and totally understanding, he is an LGBT ally and totally understood my concerns. Anyway he sent my request to the active duty USCG officer in charge of the Aux for our region. He requested an answer specifically for the Aux and for the USCG as a whole. His response for the Aux was pretty clear, no problem at all... his response for active duty USCG however was not so clear cut (I was expecting a clear "No"). The way it was worded, made it seem as though the USCG is already in the process of drafting regulations and procedures for accommodating transgender service members. It is possible guys that the USCG could allow transgender people to serve active duty in the not too distant future... progress ladies and gentleman, progress!

[Charlize]

Sounds like you'll have you salt back soon. Well done

Hugs,

Charlie

[Guest Caren_J]

The Coast Guard as a whole is a military service, where as the CGAUX is volunteer based you are still required to wear a uniform, that is almost similar to the active duty portion. Now don't quote my response as official policy, but as long as the uniform isn't degraded I don't think it would be a problem. Now for transgender people to serve on active duty, I still think it is a way off. It is just like the other services, major changes like that need to come from congress. Even though the CG was one of the first services that fully integrated women into the field there is still some "old guard" people that don't even like the policy of openly gay/lesbian relationships. I acutely work with a legally married lesbian and I think it is great! I do think though that in time transgendered people will be able to serve, but I don't think I will see it in my time in the service.

[Guest Jo-88]

Yea it is still a ways off... probably too far off for trans people already serving (you're going to have to leave to transition... no way around it). But to younger folks I definitely think it will happen soon enough that if they want to serve they shouldn't give up hope. From my understanding of the issue the only thing keeping us out is the way the military's medical documentation references gender disorders... they are classified as mental illnesses which automatically bars you from service. If those medical guidelines ever get changed then the military won't really have any legal justification for barring trans people. Yea the old guard will hold out as long as they can, but their opinion was essentially disregarded and overruled when DADT was repealed (partially repealed). I don't think its out of the realm of possibilities that they could get overruled again (especially if our LGB brothers and sisters would add their voice to ours...). I would be surprised if the people in the know are not already preparing for this eventuality. I believe it will happen and not as far off as most believe (I am an optimist).

As far as the Aux uniform... that exactly why I had to ask in the first place. I am familiar with military grooming/uniform standards and there is no way a male is allowed to have long hair (and my hair is getting pretty long right now, and I am not cutting it). Since I am still legally male, and still presenting as male I would be bound to the same grooming standards as other male USCG members. However the person I have been speaking to seemed to think it wasn't a big deal and that as long as I can keep it out of my face and under my cover it wont be an issue... hopefully that holds true when the time comes to move forward with it.

[Guest sydney]

A friend of ours is in the USCG (not auxiliary) and she knows I'm transitioning (with half the ship). Her ship mostly takes care of the buoys in the NYC area. I even been on the ship many times and met the captain many of those times. We even spent Thanksgiving on board as our friend has no family in the area and was on duty. The ships FS2 is also a friend and we brought over some goodies and had a great Thanksgiving dinner with the skeleton crew that were there just to watch things on the ship over Thanksgiving. (Also a great game of Cards Against Humanity.)

Anyway, for the most part everyone on the ship is LGBT friendly. There is one officer that is openly gay, but isn't comfortable with Transgender people for some odd reason. (According to our friend, who is also openly bi). She commented to me that being Transgender in the US Coast Guard right now is touch and go and things are changing for the better in that area.

[Guest Jo-88]

A friend of ours is in the USCG (not auxiliary) and she knows I'm transitioning (with half the ship). Her ship mostly takes care of the buoys in the NYC area. I even been on the ship many times and met the captain many of those times. We even spent Thanksgiving on board as our friend has no family in the area and was on duty. The ships FS2 is also a friend and we brought over some goodies and had a great Thanksgiving dinner with the skeleton crew that were there just to watch things on the ship over Thanksgiving. (Also a great game of Cards Against Humanity.)

Anyway, for the most part everyone on the ship is LGBT friendly. There is one officer that is openly gay, but isn't comfortable with Transgender people for some odd reason. (According to our friend, who is also openly bi). She commented to me that being Transgender in the US Coast Guard right now is touch and go and things are changing for the better in that area.

Oh wow that's a pretty cool story! I would love to get a chance to spend a day out on a Cutter... they may be small by ship standards but they are still really awesome, they are built to take a serious beating from the weather, highly impressive. That's a shame about the one officer not being comfortable with trans people, especially considering he is gay. I am actually a little upset with the LGB community as a whole (I hear stuff like this a lot)... if you take a stroll through history, trans people have mostly adamantly supported LGB people. However now the LGB community is fast approaching equal rights on all fronts and they are turning their backs on the Trans/queer community. We fought for the rights of all of us, yet once they got what they wanted... poof! they disappear. In fact I have seen almost as much open hostility from LGB people towards trans people than I have from heteronormal/CIS gendered people. We still have their backs though, why? because it is the correct and moral thing to do, I just wish they would feel the same way about us. Anyway just a little rant that has little to do with the topic of this thread...

[Guest Caren_J]

Just a follow up on grooming standards for the AUX, I think they are allowed to have beards, I have seen some that have been in uniform. I am not sure if they have a uniform manual for the AUX though.

[Guest Jo-88]

Just a follow up on grooming standards for the AUX, I think they are allowed to have beards, I have seen some that have been in uniform. I am not sure if they have a uniform manual for the AUX though.

They do have a uniform manual and it is as strict as the actual coast guard... however the grooming standards are a bit different, they are allowed to have beards (both the USCG and the Navy used to allow beards after attaining a high enough officer or nco rank, but they changed that rule). Basically the Flotilla commander told me that they would allow me to go by the female grooming standards which say my hair cant touch my collar... other than that, and removing my 9 facial piercings when in uniform I am ok.

[Guest Gerilynn]

I am so happy to hear how open and accepting the Coast Guard is becoming. Enjoy the Aux they really are a great group. You will quickly find out the uniform regs are often more "Guidlines" than strictly enforced depending on situations. You can also probably score that trip on a Cutter once established just ask. The Aux is often taken on day trips or overnighters if they have useful skills. Or they were when I was in.

I might have said this but I had an AUX on a boat when we did an 18 hour tow in heavy weather. He did everything any boatcrew would. Stood helm, tow watch and handled lines. None of us wanted to check the engine room much so he kept his meal and let us do that but he got qualified to do it later.

Oh Sea stories... Sorry

Have fun.

[Guest saoirse]

I know a woman that had a real hard time in the uscg when she told them she was trans and planning to start transitioning .she was treated really bad and after a lot of strugling she was discharged .

[Guest Jo-88]

I know a woman that had a real hard time in the uscg when she told them she was trans and planning to start transitioning .she was treated really bad and after a lot of strugling she was discharged .

Unfortunately that is expected in any active duty or reserve group. Its sad but the military still considers being transgender a mental illness, an illness severe enough to bar one from service. Hopefully that will change in the coming years. However the group we are talking about (the USCG Auxiliary) is not military, it is a group of civilian volunteers... they are not bound by the same rules that active duty or reservists are, that includes medical rules and the uniform code of military justice. The Aux sets their own rules for the most part. Of course they are still expected to be able to perform their duties with professionalism, but beyond that the USCG doesn't have much to say about it.

[Guest LizMarie]

The entire US military is starting to change regarding trans people.

So many Americans have a US-centric world view. One of the refreshing things I experienced while in the Army, was the more open world view that some (not all, but some) NCOs and officers held because of their overseas deployments and experiences.

By now, every single service has been involved in joint exercises with nations who allow transgender persons to serve. They've seen with their own eyes that these are not issues. You have to remember that the Pentagon was ready to get rid of DADT, nearly a decade before it happened. It's the politicians who often drag their feet, for fear of political repercussions. It would not surprise me at all, when that day arrives, that the Pentagon already has a full set of draft regulations and procedures for handling trans persons. The US military has had a history of being ahead of the rest of society on issues of equality and integration. It would not surprise me at all if it happens yet again.

As for you and the Auxiliary, congratulations and good luck! This sounds like something you will really love. Please keep us informed about your adventures! Positive stories are good for everyone to see.