Fri Sep 21, 2012 at 04:00 PM PDT
Unfit to Serve
by rserven

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/21/1134896/-Unfit-to-Serve

With the anniversary of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell just passed, questions are arising over the military's continued stance that transgender people are unfit to serve.

The Advocate tracked down some current and recent transpeople who are serving or have just finished serving.

In the interest of full disclosure, this author must admit to serving in the US Army during the Vietnam Era  (1971-1973).  She did not serve oversees , but rather was stationed at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, KS, where she was a correctional specialist who rose to the pay grade of E5 (Spec-5, which is equivalent to sergeant).  She separated with an Honorable Discharge and a Presidential Commendation. 

This was all around two decades before she transitioned.

The Advocate's article features looks at Toni Blessing, who served 8 years as a petty officer in the US Navy from 1996 to 2004 and Brynn Tannehill, a former Navy lieutenant-commander, plus some personnel currently serving who cannot reveal their full identities if they wish to continue to serve.

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Sat Sep 22, 2012 at 07:36 AM PDT
Unfit to Serve Redux

by rserven

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/22/1135173/-Unfit-to-Serve-Redux

Don't you just hate it when you write a diary and publish it and then several hours later you stumble on what is perhaps the key to the story?

Last night I published Unfit to Serve, not just here but also on the front pages of Docudharma and Voices on the Square.

Not being a fan of Twitter, I missed out on a huge portion of the story.

    All Americans can now serve their country without hiding who they are: twitter.com/BarackObama/st...
    — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 21, 2012

No, Mr. President.  You should know that what you tweeted is not true.