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!

Enlisting soon and have some questions


Recommended Posts

I'm pretty sure this is the right place for this, if not feel free to correct me.

I am going to be enlisting in the Army as a 19D Cavalry Scout in a few weeks, just need to finish up the GED (I was homeschooled) and take the ASVAB. I'll probably be shipping out in late January or early February. My recruiter has assured me that there'll be no problem getting in as 19D as it's high-demand right now.

Having just recently realized that I'm transgender, does anyone have tips on what I should do? Should I come out before heading to MEPS? Sometime after OSUT? Or should I just suck it up and come out after I get out? I'm very new to all this and a bit confused.

If I come out before or during my enlistment period, does anyone know what the current atmosphere in the Army is towards transgender folk? Any advice would be welcome. 

Link to comment

Just my opinion, but I'd refrain from coming out at all until things have settled. If the Trump Administration makes the policy adjustments many of us expect, there will be a return to DADT, and being out could/probably would be sufficient to warrant immediate discharge and permanent disqualification from future service. 

As far as how other soldiers will be, that's debatable.  They'll officially be bound by to follow existing policies, but many/most will NOT be receptive or accepting. 

Regardless, BE CAREFUL. 

Link to comment

Soooo. I'm trying to think about how to best advice you. I am currently active in the army. Let me first start off by saying that things are slow going. BUT; more importantly, for you is that the military is not currently accepting new Transgender recruits, and the policy bound to take place as of now will only be accepting those who don't have GD. This is fairly important because of how army legal documents and regulations are kept/written. If you join the military without disclosing your gender dsyphoria this can lead to negative repercussions later on in your career.

So with that, it's not recommended that you join and then within a couple months you check yourself into the behavioral health services, and honestly it's even rocky territory that if when you do check in down the line that you probably don't mention you've actively known you had GD prior to your enlistment.

The otherside to this though is that I don't know of any negative blow back cases yet. The army is doing everything it can to interact professionally. Again it's just slow going as they work out all the kinks and find proper resources and contacts for every base. There's only two soldiers in the system where I'm located (myself included) and as of now there's been no issue. My friend has even already come out to their entire unit. They haven't had any work issues outside of noticing some of their peers are acting a bit differently in person encounters. Which i think is expected. For myself, I haven't disclosed to those i've worked with yet.

As for the president-elect, i've had a pretty long conversation with my physiologist about how things might change. While there are no guarantees to anything, medical professions from the bottom- up currently are proceeding on track with no intentions on changing course. Many are believe we've already gone to far to see a reason to go back. Not to mention grandfather Clause, and that the Sec. of the Army is also a gay man. DADT will most likely never return, as for the trans policy, we're are getting far enough down the road that it's becoming unfeasible to turn around.

Kinda just my .02$ on the situation and what I've experienced thus far. 

  

Link to comment
  • Forum Moderator

Thank you JB!  Thats the kind of well written and thought out response that is most valuable.  It's encouraging even for those of us not, or no longer in the military.  I was in the Navy during the 70's and kept my thoughts to myself.  I certainly hope that we are down the road enough that it will be difficult, if not impossible to turn the policy around. 

Thanks, Jani

Link to comment

JB, I agree with Jani - nicely done!  And very good advice.  I'm on the backside of a large naval & marine base along with a large naval hospital where I have some interaction.  I don't have anything to add except that it's good advice/info.

Link to comment

Again, I'd recommend caution until things have calmed down.  Many Trump appointees are going to be anti LGBT, including the proposed SECDEF, who considers LGBT personnel to be detrimental to the the health and readiness of service personnel.  Other current secretaries who are friendly will soon all be replaced, and I really don't foresee any friendly appointments for the next several years. 

There are generally two potential paths...  come out and hope that policies aren't changed by those that are already actively hostile against us, or lay low until you know where things are headed.

Link to comment

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to do what Angie suggests and just lay low until things are settled. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst I guess. 

Link to comment
On 12/3/2016 at 11:55 AM, AshtonShayne said:

I'm pretty sure this is the right place for this, if not feel free to correct me.I am going to be enlisting in the Army as a 19D Cavalry Scout in a few weeks, just need to finish up the GED (I was homeschooled) and take the ASVAB. I'll probably be shipping out in late January or early February. My recruiter has assured me that there'll be no problem getting in as 19D as it's high-demand right now.Having just recently realized that I'm transgender, does anyone have tips on what I should do? Should I come out before heading to MEPS? Sometime after OSUT? Or should I just suck it up and come out after I get out? I'm very new to all this and a bit confused.If I come out before or during my enlistment period, does anyone know what the current atmosphere in the Army is towards transgender folk? Any advice would be welcome. 

Good luck soldier.  God Speed.

Link to comment
Quote

Not later tha 1 year from now (July 1, 2017):

• When the training of the force is complete, the military Services will begin accessing transgender applicants who meet all standards—holding them to the same physical and mental fitness standards as everyone else who wants to join the military.

• The gender identity of an otherwise qualified individual will not bar them from joining the military, from admission to our Service Academies, or from participating in ROTC or any other accession program.

• Our initial accession policy will require an individual to have completed any medical treatment that their doctor has determined is necessary in connection with their gender transition, and to have been stable in their preferred gender for 18 months, as certified by their doctor, before they can enter he military.

• This standard will be reviewed no later than 24 months from July 1, 2016 to ensure it reflects what more we learn as this is implemented, as well as the most updated medical information.

This is from the DoD Transgender Policy factsheet.

Of particular importance for you is the third bullet point, as well as the date. As things stand right now, if you disclose that your are transgender, you might not be allowed to enlist right now. However, with the policy in place, if you began transition now, and complete whatever necessary medical treatment is needed along with your legal name change/gender change paperwork, and are stable in your "new" gender for 18 months, you can enlist then.

They are basically treating it like they would other manageable health conditions. For example, when I joined the Navy, I wore glasses and had hypothyroid for which I took medication. The thyroid condition required a waiver for entry, but didn't bar it because the condition was stable on the medication I took. 

It's a bad idea to go the "suck it up" route. The military is psychologically taxing even at the best of times, and dealing with gender dysphoria and not being able to transition on top of that? Based on the current policy, your healthiest and most honest option is to transition first and join up later.

 

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   4 Members, 0 Anonymous, 85 Guests (See full list)

    • MaeBe
    • April Marie
    • Abigail Genevieve
    • Delaney
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.7k
    • Total Posts
      768.3k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,023
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Delaney
    Newest Member
    Delaney
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Bebhar
      Bebhar
      (41 years old)
    2. caelensmom
      caelensmom
      (40 years old)
    3. Jani
      Jani
      (70 years old)
    4. Jessicapitts
      Jessicapitts
      (37 years old)
    5. klb046
      klb046
      (30 years old)
  • Posts

    • Abigail Genevieve
      People who have no understanding of transgender conditions should not be making policy for people dealing with it. Since it is such a small percentage of the population, and each individual is unique, and their circumstances are also unique, each situation needs to be worked with individually to see that the best possible solution is implemented for those involved. 
    • Abigail Genevieve
      No.  You are getting stuck on one statement and pulling it out of context.   Trans kids have rights, but so do non-trans kids.  That conflict is best worked out in the individual situation. 
    • MaeBe
      I get the concept, I believe. You're trying to state that trans kids need to or should be excluded from binary gender spaces and that you acknowledge that answers to accommodate those kids may not be found through policy. I disagree with the capability of "penetration" as being the operative delimiter in the statement, however. I contest this statement is poorly chosen at best and smacks of prejudice at worst. That it perpetuates certain stereotypes, whether that was the intent or not.   Frankly, all kids should have the right to privacy in locker rooms, regardless of gender, sexuality, or anatomy. They should also have access to exercise and activities that other kids do and allow them to socialize in those activities. The more kids are othered, extracted, or barred from the typical school day the more isolated and stigmatized they become. That's not healthy for anyone, the excluded for obvious reasons and the included for others--namely they get to be the "haves" and all that entails.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      Context.  Read the context.  Good grief.
    • MaeBe
      Please don't expect people to read manifold pages of fiction to understand a post.   There was a pointed statement made, and I responded to it. The statement used the term penetration, not "dissimilar anatomy causing social discomfiture", or some other reason. It was extended as a "rule" across very different social situations as well, locker and girl's bedrooms. How that term is used in most situations is to infer sexual contact, so most readers would read that and think the statement is that we "need to keep trans girl's penises out of cis girls", which reads very closely to the idea that trans people are often portrayed as sexual predators.   I understand we can't always get all of our thoughts onto the page, but this doesn't read like an under-cooked idea or a lingual short cut.
    • Ashley0616
      I shopped online in the beginning of transition. I had great success with SHEIN and Torrid!
    • Abigail Genevieve
      Have you read the rest of what I wrote?   Please read between the lines of what I said about high school.  Go over and read my Taylor story.  Put two and two together.   That is all I will say about that.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      "I feel like I lost my husband," Lois told the therapist,"I want the man I married." Dr. Smith looked at Odie, sitting there in his men's clothing, looking awkward and embarrassed. "You have him.  This is just a part of him you did not know about. Or did not face." She turned to Odie,"Did you tear my wedding dress on our wedding night?" He admitted it.  She had a whole catalog of did-you and how-could you.  Dr. Smith encouraged her to let it all out. Thirty years of marriage.  Strange makeup in the bathroom.  The kids finding women's laundry in the laundry room. There was reconciliation. "What do we do now?" Dr. Smith said they had to work that out.  Odie began wearing women's clothing when not at work.  They visited a cross-dressers' social club but it did not appeal to them.  The bed was off limits to cross dressing.  She had limits and he could respect her limits.  Visits to relatives would be with him in men's clothing.    "You have nail polish residue," a co-worker pointed out.  Sure enough, the bottom of his left pinky nail was bright pink  His boss asked him to go home and fix it.  He did.   People were talking, he was sure, because he doubted he was anywhere as thorough as he wanted to be.  It was like something in him wanted to tell everyone what he was doing, and he was sloppy.   His boss dropped off some needed paperwork on a Saturday unexpectedly and found Odie dressed in a house dress and wig.  "What?" the boss said, shook his head, and left.  None of his business.   "People are talking," Lois said. "They are asking about this," she pointed to his denim skirt. "This seems to go past or deeper than cross dressing."   "Yes.  I guess we need some counseling."  And they went.
    • April Marie
      You look wonderful!!! A rose among the roses.
    • Ashley0616
      Mine would be SHEIN as much as I have bought from them lol.
    • MaeBe
      This is the persistence in thinking of trans girls as predators and, as if, they are the only kind of predation that happens in locker rooms. This is strikingly close to the dangerous myth that anatomy corresponds with sexuality and equates to gender.
    • Abigail Genevieve
      At the same time there might be mtf boys who transitioned post-puberty who really belong on the girls' teams because they have more similarities there than with the boys, would perform at the same level, and might get injured playing with the bigger, stronger boys.   I well remember being an androgynous shrimp in gym class that I shared with seniors who played on the football team.  When PE was no longer mandatory, I was no longer in PE. They started some mixed PE classes the second semester, where we played volleyball and learned bowling and no longer mixed with those seniors, boys and girls together.
    • Timi
      Leggings and gym shorts, sweatshirt, Handker wild rag. Listening to new Taylor Swift album while strolling through the rose garden in the park. 
    • Ivy
      Grey short sleeved dress under a beige pinafore-type dress.  Black thigh highs (probably look like tights).  It was cool this morning so a light black colored sweater.  
    • Abigail Genevieve
      People love bureaucracy.  It makes everything cut and dried, black and white, and often unjust, unmerciful, wasteful and downright stupid.
  • 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...