I'm the Transgender Soldier Our President Warned You About

Note please that jargon terms are linked to Wikipedia articles that explain those terms.

I'm not just transgender. I'm also a veteran. 28 years in the uniform of the United States Army, most of it as a combat arms Soldier. I've been deployed to combat multiple times.

Wait. A transgender Soldier? Yes. That's right. I was decently good at it, too. There are a lot of transgender military personnel in this country, serving honorably, doing amazing things. I've spoken with more than a few of them. They wear our country's uniform with pride, they hold their rifle, and they stand on the line between our citizens and those who mean our country harm, just like our other Soldiers do. I even know a transgender Soldier with a Bronze Star.

My wife says that I often downplay my military service. She's right. I do. I tend to avoid the spotlight. I don't like bragging about myself, though I'll gladly brag about her. She is concerned, I believe, that I might downplay who I am as a person too much, sometimes. So babe, just for you, here's my brag moment. My literary "I love me wall" (many military people have a wall that's sarcastically termed an I Love Me Wall in their home that displays their military accomplishments), if you will.

I have 27 months of combat time. I've seen a lot of horrible things. I've faced violence. I've been in difficult situations. My unit was awarded the Valorous Unit Award (the unit equivalent of the individual Silver Star) for our actions in Baghdad. I'm a graduate of the U.S. Army Air Assault School and the U. S. Army Electronic Warfare Operator's (EWO) School. I'm a certified military instructor.

I'm authorized to wear combat patches for the 1st Infantry Division and the 101st Airborne Division. I've seen men go outside the wire (off the base into the more dangerous areas) and not come back. I've had rockets and mortars and IEDs explode in close proximity. I've personally arrested and interrogated dozens of people who emplaced improvised explosive devices (IED's) or carried out or tried to carry out other types of attacks against our forces. I routinely qualified expert with my M-4 rifle. I've called for dustoffs in combat.

I've rappelled from helicopters, landed on an airfield under fire, fired cannons, and gone on dozens of combat patrols as the lead driver (the lead vehicle is in the most dangerous position and the lead driver is an extremely stressful position). I've hooked combat vehicles to helicopters in the pitch black of an overcast night, taken incoming rockets and mortars, heard my fellow Soldiers locked in a desperate struggle on the radio and anguished at the casualty reports, faced down a hostile crowd of about 50 Iraqis with just me and my driver in the middle of Baghdad in the middle of the night, survived a helicopter crash, held an armed IED in my bare hands, had shots fired at me, and found enemy weapons caches. I've literally stood on Saddam Hussein's front door, helped discover a tunnel complex, and chased a truck full of gunmen through the streets of Baghdad with a drone in the middle of the night. I've done SPIE, survived a VBIED attack, called in airstrikes and drone attacks, and frankly, did my part to rock the world, high explosive style.

I'm transgender. I am. But I'm not alone. There are thousands more, just like me. Literally thousands. Transgender. Loving America. Serving. Fighting. Kicking butt. Making a difference. Don't let anyone tell you differently. We're real!

In short: I'm the Transgender Soldier our President warned you about!