Posted on Oct 28, 2015
Transgender officer who spent $50,000 to become a woman slams US Army rules that force soldiers to keep calling her 'sir'
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From Daily Mail:
A transgender soldier in the U.S. Army has hit out at military rules which mean her subordinates still have to refer to her as 'sir'.
Captain Jennifer Peace, an intelligence specialist, started transitioning into a woman in early 2014 after a decade of military service that saw her fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But, despite the 30-year-old undergoing surgeries to make her look more feminine and being recognized as a woman by the federal government, military officials insist on treating her as a man.
Captain Peace, from Spanaway, Washington, revealed her new identity to her commanders after having surgery between deployments, the Tacoma News-Tribune reported. In total she has spent some $50,000 on the transition.
And though she says they began being supportive, high-ranking officers later put her through psychiatric tests and medical evaluations, with one even suggesting she leave the military altogether.
Before she returned to duty with her new identity, commanders even issued orders to troops she was in charge of, insisting they continue to refer to her as a man, because the Army does not officially recognise the possibility that soldiers can change gender.
An official statement from her unit said: 'The current policy on the service of transgender individuals has not changed.
'Current Army policy is that the Army will only recognize soldiers by the gender they held when they entered the Army'.
The policy is under review, and a revamped set of rules for the U.S. military's estimated 15,000 transgender members is due to be announced within months.
But waiting for the changes, Captain Peace said, is 'excruciating'. In the mean time, so far as the army is concerned, she is a man named Jennifer, whose official military photograph shows a male.
Captain Peace, who married at the age of 19, is still with her wife, who now considers herself a lesbian. She and Deborah Peace have two sons, aged seven and nine, and a young daughter.
Though the transition was difficult, Captain Peace said, her family has been accepting - and it is only the Army who continue to present her with difficulties, which she believes impoverishes the army as a whole.
She said: 'I really believe this is my Army as much as anyone else’s. I deserve to be here, to serve in the organization and make it better.
'I think that everyone now recognizes we need this diversity, and the discrimination that's currently taking place is baseless. And we're losing qualified soldiers because of it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3263746/Transgender-officer-spent-50-000-woman-slams-U-S-Army-rules-force-soldiers-calling-sir.html
A transgender soldier in the U.S. Army has hit out at military rules which mean her subordinates still have to refer to her as 'sir'.
Captain Jennifer Peace, an intelligence specialist, started transitioning into a woman in early 2014 after a decade of military service that saw her fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.
But, despite the 30-year-old undergoing surgeries to make her look more feminine and being recognized as a woman by the federal government, military officials insist on treating her as a man.
Captain Peace, from Spanaway, Washington, revealed her new identity to her commanders after having surgery between deployments, the Tacoma News-Tribune reported. In total she has spent some $50,000 on the transition.
And though she says they began being supportive, high-ranking officers later put her through psychiatric tests and medical evaluations, with one even suggesting she leave the military altogether.
Before she returned to duty with her new identity, commanders even issued orders to troops she was in charge of, insisting they continue to refer to her as a man, because the Army does not officially recognise the possibility that soldiers can change gender.
An official statement from her unit said: 'The current policy on the service of transgender individuals has not changed.
'Current Army policy is that the Army will only recognize soldiers by the gender they held when they entered the Army'.
The policy is under review, and a revamped set of rules for the U.S. military's estimated 15,000 transgender members is due to be announced within months.
But waiting for the changes, Captain Peace said, is 'excruciating'. In the mean time, so far as the army is concerned, she is a man named Jennifer, whose official military photograph shows a male.
Captain Peace, who married at the age of 19, is still with her wife, who now considers herself a lesbian. She and Deborah Peace have two sons, aged seven and nine, and a young daughter.
Though the transition was difficult, Captain Peace said, her family has been accepting - and it is only the Army who continue to present her with difficulties, which she believes impoverishes the army as a whole.
She said: 'I really believe this is my Army as much as anyone else’s. I deserve to be here, to serve in the organization and make it better.
'I think that everyone now recognizes we need this diversity, and the discrimination that's currently taking place is baseless. And we're losing qualified soldiers because of it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3263746/Transgender-officer-spent-50-000-woman-slams-U-S-Army-rules-force-soldiers-calling-sir.html
Women in the Military
Army
Transgender
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 43
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Haven't women always said they want to be treated like men? I'm confused. Will this surgery change half his chromosomes to "Y"? Will it change his DNA? Cutting of your genitals and putting on a dress doesn't make a man in to a woman and I am flabbergasted that anyone would expect other people to play along with this guy's delusion.
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SPC (Join to see)
Some women not all. I disagree with the opinions of women and men should be treated equally. Were not equal. Physically. Mentally. We are not the same. Respect is the only thing we should have equality on.
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I respect your right to see yourself the way you think you should be. But, that does not change how the Army sees you. You signed up as a man, you will be addressed as a man. The Military was never meant for social experiments. If you don't like the regulations, or can't live by those regulations, then it time for you to leave the service.
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Pray a prayer for this confused soul as worldly things has lead him astray. A gender neutral term for officers wouldn't be a terrible thing though.
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It kinda sounds like the Army version of Peppermint Patty and Marcie from Peanuts! "Sir!"
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CPT Pedro Meza
Disagree with the ARMY statement because its the decision of a few man, that fail to see that they have a woman that thinks like a man and can get in where the women and girls of the enemy are and collect intel, etc.
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Certainly not a cut and dry issue for many and for many reasons (good and bad, and not all personally biased not baseless). At a certain point we as a people and as an Army (and DoD at large) will have to decide a lot of issues. This one is different than the homosexual policy in that we will have to decide about housing, field conditions, HT/WT standards, PT standards. Maybe we go gender neutral on all things and remove all "labels" that are gender specific. Maybe we don't. At a certain point we have to decide what is best for national defense and what is best for the country. By "we" I mean our government, senior leaders and the public. Any change to what is currently in effect should be carefully done and with due diligence to all ramifications.
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CPT Pedro Meza
What is best for National Defense is to make use of a woman that thinks like a man and use her to collect intel from the women and girls of the enemy. Think of the potential?
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It's kind of a difficult area to form an opinion on. The regs state with certainty that the entry sex is and will be recognized, while the military has opted to let transgendered people serve. Regardless of your opinion, it seems to be a conflict between a policy and a hard, fast regulation. Is it time to change military regs?
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Though she has every right to be upset, she knows how changes work. New rules and regulations do not happen overnight. They take a process and heavy amounts of information to approve or disapprove them. She should suck it up and wait for the decision. If she is still not satisfied she can go another route she decides upon.
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Sorry either you are male or female.. no mixed in the service not good for moral...
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I understand the frustration, but CPT Peace had to know the rules and regs before going through the surgeries and treatment. They didn't magically change just because he has started the process of becoming female. They're under review by the Army and everyone will have to just wait until they are done. CPT Peace has been in for ten years. so I'm sure there are several Soldiers that have worked with him/her for years and will have problems with the transition. I'm always kind of boggled against this mindset of 'I'm going to swim upstream against the rules and get upset because the rules are against me'
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I bet he wanted them to grade her as a woman for the PT test and allow him to shower where women do.
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