Trans in the Army

The CamelBak Ambush hydration pack served me well in AIT in San Antonio, TX in the summer. I store a field first aid kit and blister kit along with other essential field supplies in this large pack. The reservoir is xl and holds 3 liters of water. On the hottest days, I would fill it with ice and let it cool my back. You can currently pick one of these up on tacticalgear.com for $84.99

These are my favorite combat boots. Tactical Research Khyber Mountain Hybrid II. The size runs a little off. If you wear a size 10 normally then you should purchase a size 9 in these boots. They currently sell for $134.99 on tacticalgear.com

I recently acquired the pamphlet put out to all military branches regarding transgender service members and the guidelines set forth for accepting openly serving trans members of the military. I will be transcribing this 36 page pamphlet into a more condensed, user-friendly document and posting it here in the next few days. The first line of the introduction makes it clear that gender and sexuality are not the same thing. I am impressed with what I have read in these guidelines and am proud that our military has realized that trans people are not a liability or abomination and that we are deserving of respect and the right to support and defend our country.

This is my personal experience. My greatest increase in Sit-Ups came from using the plates from the Kevlar vest to do weighted sit ups. Also, static holds work wonders. Do a sit up then go half way down and hold that position for as long as you can. When you feel like you can't hold any longer, force another 5-10 seconds out of your self. You can do it! Also, lie on your back with your hands under the small of your back and hold your feet about 2-4 inches off the ground. Hold that position as long as possible. For an added challenge, do this with your winter boots on. Good luck!

"your maximum is under 50 pushups, do 200 a day. If your maximum is above 75, do 300 pushups a day." On off days: "Do 200 pushups in as few sets as possible in addition to your regularly scheduled workout of cardio exercises. You can still do upper body workouts on these days if you are already on a program. This is a supplemental 200 pushups using maximum repetition sets (4 x 50, 8 x 25 ... it's your choice how you get to 200)." On even days: "Do 200 pushups throughout the day. This can be little sets of ten done every half hour or fifty pushups done four times throughout the day." "Repeat the ODD/EVEN routine for a total of 10 days. Then take three days off and do NO upper body pushing exercises that work the chest, triceps, and shoulders. Then on day 14, give yourself the pushup test."

"When Army Maj. Dan Browne was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy, he was West Point's first to break the 4-minute-mile barrier." "A typical middle-of-the-PT-pack runner with, say, a 16-minute 2-mile run, shouldn’t have any problem dropping two minutes off their time in two months, Browne says." "Browne recommends starting with three runs a week and gradually increasing up to five per week by the start of the second month." "Do eight quarter miles — one lap around most tracks — with 1- to 1.5-minute recovery breaks between each lap," Browne says. "With each lap, try to be faster than your normal pace. So, someone with a 16-minute 2-mile [run] is running an average of two minutes per lap. That person doing the intervals should try to average 1 minute, 40 seconds in at least the first four laps." Hit your lactic threshold. "To find it, Browne's advice is simple: "Get to a pace that feels uncomfortable, but manageable." That pace should be for at least 2 miles at first, but you'll want to go longer as your tolerance improves." Progressive running. "This is a technique in which you gradually increase your pace throughout the run." Build in recovery. "This is the same thing I teach my Olympic athletes," Browne says. "Training is only beneficial if you allow your body to adapt to it, recover and then get stronger."

If you are a transgender person serving in any U.S. military branch or currently going through the recruitment process, please feel free to share your story or resources here. Thanks and thank you for your service!

Whoa whoa whoa now... "But transgender men who have not had surgery or hormone therapy will need to wear female undergarments, take a pregnancy test and have the medical exam specific to female anatomical characteristics, the memo added. Similarly, according to the memo, transgender women who have not had surgery or hormone therapy will need to wear male undergarments, will not take a pregnancy test and will take the medical exam specific to male anatomical characteristics." You want a guy... In a room full of other guys... Wearing panties? Are you serious? Talk about severe humiliation and dysphoria. This could be detrimental to a recruit's mental health. How is that policy? I am going to call my Chicago MEPS Army liaison to get more info on this. She has been very helpful so far so hopefully she can shed some light on this issue.

I'm not sure how up to date all of this is but there's a lot of info here so check it out.

The Army Song!

Army Values!

Know your general orders!

The warrior ethos!

The Soldiers Creed!

Check out this awesome tattoo!