Transgender Navy SEAL 'Warrior Princess' Comes Out

By LEE FERRAN
June 3, 2013

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/transgender-navy-seal-warrior-princess/story?id=19314231#.Ua0k3rVfHIY

A former member of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs has come out to say she's now a woman.

Kristin Beck, formerly Chris, served 20 years as a SEAL and fought on some of the most dangerous battlefields in the world, but after she left the service she realized she wasn't living the life she wanted.

"Chris really wanted to be a girl and felt that she was a girl and consolidated that identity very early on in childhood," said Anne Speckhard, co-author of Beck's biography "Warrior Princess," which was published over the weekend. Speckhard told ABC News Beck suppressed that secret for decades, however, through the trials of SEAL training and the harrowing missions that followed, growing a burly beard as she fought on the front lines of American special operations.

Brandon Webb, a former SEAL who served on a different SEAL team than Beck, said that Beck's reputation in the SEALs was a good one and said she was, by all appearances, the "consummate guy's guy."

But the book says that Chris "had considered living as the woman he felt himself to be for a very long time, but while he was serving as a SEAL he couldn't do it."

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The Latest Navy SEAL Book Could Impact the Military's Transgender Rules

J.K. Trotter

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/06/transgender-navy-seal-memoir/65823/

In every Navy SEAL is a memoir, it seems lately. Retired SEAL Kristin Beck's new memoir, published on Tuesday and titled Warrior Princess, is a bit different, though. In it, Beck describes how, over the course of her 20 year military career, including thirteen deployments over the globe, she slowly became more and more aware that was she meant to live life as a woman — a vexing and often tormenting realization for a long-time member of an elite all-male unit that went on to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. Beck, who identified as a man (and went by the name Chris) while in the Navy, explains that she decided to undergo hormonal therapy some time after retiring in early 2011, and eventually came out to colleagues by posting a picture of herself dressed as a woman on LinkedIn earlier this year:

    That night Kris put up a new photo to her LinkedIn profile — the one taken by Christy of Kris standing in front of the American flag. This time Kris wrote, "I am now taking off all my disguises and letting the world know my true identity as a woman." Kris also changed her name on her profile page to Kristin Beck.

Thanks for posting this, Shana! Hugs, Devlyn

Saw this on Yahoo front page. How cool is that! She's my hero.

Former Virginia Beach SEAL Chris tells story as Kristin

Her military file has her listed as Christopher Todd Beck, a retired 46-year-old Navy SEAL who spent five years in Virginia Beach, earned a Bronze Star with valor and a Purple Heart and served in three different SEAL commands - including the exclusive SEAL Team 6.

What it doesn't say is that Christopher now lives openly as Kristin Beck, a woman who never would have been allowed to serve had she been honest about her transgender identity....

In one excerpt, Beck describes the irony of being dressed as an Afghan man to blend in with Taliban men who'd expressed a deep hatred of women.

"It was weird that I could grow a beard and trick them into thinking I was one of them - and really I'm an Amazon woman in disguise as a U.S. military guy in disguise as a Pashtun!"

It wasn't until after retiring in 2011 as a senior chief petty officer that Beck came out as a transgender woman, identifying as Kristin.



Geez, look at all that chest candy.

The level of ignorance, fear, and unbridled rude attitude in the comments section of this msn.com article on the same topic here:

http://now.msn.com/kristin-beck-transgender-navy-seal-announces-she-is-a-woman

Is utterly astounding. Just another reason why I remain stealth as much as possible. If a 20 year Navy Seal vet that transitions get's this sort of response... what hope do us mere mortal transitioners have of wide-spread acceptance? Just staggering really.

U.S. Navy...a global force for good...no evil shall escape her reach...

BZ Warrior Princess !!!

Best wishes and good luck to her,not one of these keyboard warriors would dare say any of the crap they write to the warrior princess!

Quote from: big kim on June 05, 2013, 03:21:00 AM
Best wishes and good luck to her,not one of these keyboard warriors would dare say any of the crap they write to the warrior princess!

+1

The funny thing is, most of them wouldn't say those kinds of things to any of us, either. Yes, a few would...but most? Not even.

Yes JennX,

Your right, my best friend who is special ops today, and who I served in the usmc back in the last 80's, just does not accept my fem side, eventually womanhood. Its kinda scary who a spec ops warrior, at the top of her former game, is now heckled. Reason I remain stealth as much as possible, sorry but I'm not much of an activist or into the limelight, more like low key, I did come out to an extent back in the early 90's, but back in the shell I went. Some say chicken->-bleeped-<- on my behalf, I say prudent in not transitioning until so late now in my mid 40's and having the courage now, anyways, Badd Arse for Kristin

Lucia,

Comments are as usually "astonishing"... What hurts the most is that many posters are women. Unless they they are radical feminists - not necessary lesbians - and big fans of Janice Raymond and her "book" - then I dunno why they are writing that BS.

There are many "Warrior Princesses" in this forum. Ladies who served with Honor and Pride. Most have a few scars  -both physical and p[sicological- to remind them that it was not a dream....

Still I know of a few of our members who still go down range in or out of uniform...so yeah...to all of you I Salute You!!

June 6th, 2013
10:18 PM ET
Part I of @andersoncooper's exclusive interview with transgender former Navy SEAL Kristen Beck

http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/06/part-i-of-andersoncoopers-exclusive-interview-with-transgender-former-navy-seal-kristen-beck/

Christopher Beck served as a U.S. Navy SEAL in some of the most dangerous battlegrounds in the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan and earnedmedals and commendations including the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart

But for 20 years while Beck was fighting for his country, he was also fighting an inner battle over his identity. He wanted to live his life as a woman.

After retiring in 2011, Beck did just that. Chris Beck is now Kristin Beck.

Tonight Kristen spoke with Anderson Cooper about the transition from being a masculine Navy SEAL to a feminine woman.

   THANK YOU  PEKY  RVN 1970-1971     We all still suffer it never goes completely away. The SEALS
are truly the best of the best and Kristen with SEAL tradition had the courage to come out as her true female self. I SALUTE HER both for her bravery and courage on and off the battlefield.

Me, personally, I think we should all be able to live our lives how we want. Kristen was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice and in actuallity sacrificed more than most folks do or are willing to especially the negative comment crowd. She deserves to live her life how she wants without squat being said. I for one am proud to belong to a community with so many members willing or have offered to lay down their lives for the freedom that I experience and will experience in mine. I myself am ex-millitary and it is never a question of if you would but rather where is the plane and let's go.

This woman is my hero! In every possible way she meets and exceeds every reasonable defenition of the word 'brave'.

My only thought when I read the negative comments she's getting is . . .

Wait wait wait . . . Let me get this straight.

This is a woman who was in special ops, who was deployed at least 13 times, learned how to escape from, hide from, and kill enemies in every terain on the planet, has knowledge on how to use military grade weaponery, knows more uses for boot shoe laces than you can possibly imagine, probably knows how to improvise a few more weapons on her own, and almost certanly learned how to kill people with her bare hands . . . And you want to insult or threaten this person?

Yeah . . . Good luck with that..

Seriously though . . . it is very sad that after 20 years doing what is probably one of the most psychologicaly and physicaly demanding and dangerous jobs in the world, that, because she transitioned, now she is afrade for her life. It's terrible the way people are ridicueling her for persuing life liberty and the persuite of happyness . . . which she was even wounded in action defending her right and ours.

I do hope that, despite the what I hope is just a loud minority heckling her, that maybe her story, and the story that ran recently about the AFA woman's champ maybe gets people to stop and think. Even if they dont post anything. Maybe, just maybe her story will change people's minds. If it makes just one person stop and think about how there's nothing wrong with this, her speaking out has accomplished something.

Good for her! I never got around to reading the comments on the articles, that were referred to - I reckoned it was well enough to read about the encouraging remarks she received from her fellow SEALS: good on 'em! 

Quote from: Jess42 on June 07, 2013, 08:19:07 AM
Me, personally, I think we should all be able to live our lives how we want. Kristen was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice and in actuallity sacrificed more than most folks do or are willing to especially the negative comment crowd. She deserves to live her life how she wants without squat being said. I for one am proud to belong to a community with so many members willing or have offered to lay down their lives for the freedom that I experience and will experience in mine. I myself am ex-millitary and it is never a question of if you would but rather where is the plane and let's go.

I'm not too sure about that. I used to post on a pro-gun board, where members boast of their military time (and this particular board has an icon for verified military service; some of the biggest boasters were ex-mil)...and they are all, to a man, homophobic and lividly trans-phobic. Most of them are also hard-core Christian.

I tend to not make blanket statements about the "honor" of former military (or anyone) because of the back-stabbing that goes on should a former member cross the line into "enemy" territory. It's one thing to hang someone for turning traitor in war; it's a totally different game when it's "just" an individual thing.

I'm reading her book "Warrior Princess" now. The grammar is bad at times but the material is pretty compelling. Even the parts where she recounts her experiences being a SEAL on missions has her feelings mixed into it.

Reading it I almost don't feel like I've earned the right to be a woman compared to those accomplishments. But the cost she has paid has been staggeringly high.

Wow... Just WOW. I know what kind of stuff these people go through (SEALS) as my brother was a S.A.S. serviceman. His training was intense, the work even more-so, but SEALS are no exception either.
What bothers me is - she must have been holding in all of her feelings whilst at war for those 20-odd years or so. That must have been
incredibly hard to do.

This woman is a true warrior princess indeed!

I just finished the book. It's Kris has lead an a pretty incredible life. It definitely left me with a thirst for more in life.