Transgender service members want to be open about who they are
Steve Liewer, September 29th

Two years ago the LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender — lobby groups celebrated the end of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that kept gay service members closeted. And earlier this month, the Pentagon granted benefits to those members' same-sex spouses.

But the fight is heating up again because the end of "don't ask, don't tell" had no impact on the transgender members of the LGBT coalition, who are barred from the military on medical grounds. Transgender advocates see no reason why they should be treated differently from their gay brothers and sisters. "(We're) proud, productive members of the military," said Paula Neira, who as a male served as a naval surface warfare officer from 1985 to 1991. "We're the last group of folks who have to serve without being open about who we are."

"We've reached a point where there are people who are transgender in the service, functioning at a high level," said Brynn Tannehill, a former male Navy aviator from Xenia, Ohio, who is SPART*A's (Service Members, Partners, Allies with Respect and Tolerance for All) director of advocacy. "You're not doing any good by trying to keep these people from serving."

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130929/NEWS/130928708

Lincoln guardsman offers take on military transgender movement
Stever Liewer, September 29th

If the military transgender movement needs a public face in Nebraska, veteran Scott Schneider is happy to offer his bearded mug.

He left the Guard at the end of his six-year tour in part because it was hard to maintain the pretense of being a woman at work when he actually looked and felt like a man. He wanted to speak out in support of transgender rights, too — something he couldn't do while serving in the military. "It was definitely hard to walk away," said Schneider, 32, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "When you're in, you can't speak out about anything, and I wanted to be able to."

...Schneider's chain of command supported him. The chief master sergeant said he would see what he could do to help him stay with the unit.

"He didn't guarantee me anything. He just said, 'Don't panic,' " Schneider recalled. "The main concern was whether it affected the unit."

Despite the changes, Schneider said he maintained the necessary pretense of being "Meghan," though he was secretly thrilled when people called him "sir." "It certainly could have played out very differently," she said.

"They still call me 'she' and by my female name," Schneider said. "It's irritating, but it's not a deal breaker. They're still my family."

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130929/NEWS/130928707