How will the Army deal with trans-gender urinalyses until the trans-gender numbers can support trans-specific observers?

CPT Melanie Ryan - First, let me say that my questions are serious. I am not trying to offend you or trying to be funny. I am just very confused about all of this...

You say you were transgender during your time in service and your info shows you as a "tank commander", but your photo shows you as a "woman". As such, I assume that, when you were in the service, you were a "man" (at least biologically and in appearance), since there were no females serving as tank commanders. So, assuming that is correct, my question is that, if you were biologically a man and were a man in appearance, how were you transgender? Only in your mind?

This is very confusing to me... I thought somebody who claims to be transgender lives as the opposite sex and has had or is in the process of having a sex change operation. Does just thinking you are the opposite sex than your genitals make you transgender, even if you don't live as such? If you dressed as a woman when off duty, didn't that simply make you a transvestite?

Colonel those are very reasonable questions. Thank you for asking. By and large transgender people recognize that something is "wrong" (for want of a better word) at a very early age. In my case, that awareness came around about the same time that I learned that there is a difference between boys and girls. However, this being the late 1960s there was very little I could do about that feeling and certainly no support of any kind of any kind.

My parents good upper-middle-class type folks were appalled whenever I try to express myself as a girl. So, I learn to play the game In order to keep my parents happy (baseball, Boy Scouts, etc), and join the Army partially out of a sense of family tradition (among other family members, my maternal grandfather was one of the Army's last horse cavalrymen), out of patriotism-this was the Reagan era after all-and frankly, I needed a job.of patriotism.

I was enlisted first (MP) and took the opportunity of green to gold to earn my bachelors degree and my commission. And throughout all this, I knew there was a woman inside me but there was no way I could let her out. This was not a very understanding time so I pretended. So, yes, I was male when I served and Company C, 1/34 Armor at Fort Riley. I was male when I got married at Fort Knox. I was male when my children were born. My now ex-wife knew about this when we were dating and it seemed like it was going to be OK. But after I left the service, I found it harder and harder to resist who I really am, and began my transition about five years ago.

Said transition is not yet complete as GRS is a somewhat expensive proposition, and at the moment the VA isn't too interested in helping transgender veterans reaching their ultimate goal. C'est la vie.

The term transvestite comes under the overall umbrella that is transgender. Transvestites are those who like to dress as a member of the gender opposite of their birth, but do not undergo any formal transition, either hormone replacement therapy, surgical interventions, legal name changes and all that fun stuff. And I suppose it safe to say that while I was on active duty and before, the term would've been appropriate for me. However , Those of us who want to completely transition, that is to say undergo gender reassignment surgery, are relatively rare. As far as I understand, neither the Department of the Army, nor the Defense Department, will allow a postoperative transgender person to serve. There's a pity really T'is a pity really; because a lot of us are very patriotic. I, for one, would go back tomorrow if called.

I hope this answers some of your questions and I will be happy to help you further understand if you so desire.

CPT Melanie Ryan - Thank you for the detailed information. I understand much better now.

I have very mixed emotions about all of this. I guess it is because it is very difficult for me to understand how a person born a male can actually believe he is a female (and vice versa) and, as such, I think it is a mental condition that should be treated, rather than be given in to and taking measures to surgically alter a person's genitals, because, after that is accomplished, the person is still the same sex he/she was born as, only with surgically created genitals. Having said that, I also realize that people's feelings count and if they can do something to make them feel more comfortable and happy, and it does not harm other people, why not?

I do not question a gay person's or a trans person's patriotism and actually have no problem with them serving in the military, however, I am old school, I guess, and still feel that it should be done so under a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" type policy. I guess I would be hard-pressed to come up with specific examples of how not having such a policy has affected me or my units, as that was the policy when I was on active duty. Like I said, I guess I am just old school and, like with many other things in our "progressive" society, I am just reluctant to change. That does not make me right, nor does it make you wrong.

Regardless, I wish you the very best and hope everything works out for you.

CW2 Lindsey Muller CW3 (Join to see)

It is a psychological issue, you could say. The American Psychiatric Association calls this "Gender Dysphoria," and we go under a lot of counseling before any interventions take place.

FWIW: the basis is in our neurology. As you are no doubt aware, men and women have differently structured brains. What science is finding that transgender persons have the actual brain structure of their self identified gender.

Excellent solution, if you had the chance to discuss this with the policy makers what would your recommendation be?

Agreed. The test can be secure, controlled, and observed without physically witnessing the urine stream being passed from organ to bottle. The "observation" part is simply ensuring that the controls to maintain the integrity of the test are enforced.

Or we go to a blood or hair follicle test.

Not cost effective for the number and frequency of tests required. Actually, I believe the urine samples are first tested with the cheap commercial kits when they get to the lab. Only the presumed positives are ran through the scientific lab tests, which is way more expensive.

Folicle testing could actually reduce cost because it goes much further back and can thereby catch users with less testing requirements.