Secretary Hagel,

I was a Navy SEAL for twenty years, I served with honor, Freedom and Liberty. I am transgender and ask you please take careful consideration of this petition as this is of utmost importance to our nation and the ability of the United States to remain a example of Freedom and Liberty.

You recently signed and ratified the "Human Goals Charter" which states
"Our Nation was founded on the principle that each individual has infinite dignity and worth. ... In all that we do, we must show respect for Service members, civilian employees, and family members, recognizing their individual needs, aspirations, and capabilities."

To point out a few parts of the charter: 
"To make military service in the Department of Defense a model of equal opportunity for all regardless of race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, or national origin;
To create an inclusive environment that values diversity and fosters mutual respect and cooperation among all persons;
To contribute to the improvement of our society, including its disadvantaged members, by efficient utilization of our human and physical resources while maintaining full effectiveness in the performance of our primary mission."

Further, You stated in your address during the signing of this Charter:
"We will CONTINUE striving to make military service a model of equal opportunity for all…. While there has been much progress made all of us know there is still MORE WORK TO BE DONE... We must reinforce a culture of accountability, dignity, and respect across DoD and for all people. That is a TOP PRIORITY for all of us.”

-DOD IS A MODEL OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL
-INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT
-MUTUAL RESPECT FOR ALL PERSONS
-IMPROVE OUR SOCIETY, INCLUDING ITS DISADVANTAGED
-A CULTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY, DIGNITY AND RESPECT FOR ALL PEOPLE

Sir, Our nation is at a turning point of which President Truman spoke on June, 29th 1947 and of which has been reiterated by many leaders and yourself recently; How long must we debate "Civil Rights" and the rights of "humans?"

President Truman said "I should like to talk to you briefly about civil rights and human freedom. It is my deep conviction that we have reached a turning point in the long history of our country's efforts to guarantee freedom and equality to all our citizens. Recent events in the United States and abroad have made us realize that it is more important today than ever before to insure that ALL Americans enjoy these rights."

I am transgender and I defended these truths and rights for twenty years in the Navy SEALs as many other transgender service members still today serve with honor, yet we are not offered the same liberty and freedoms.

The TIME IS NOW to complete this journey toward true equality and allow transgender Americans to serve openly and as equals in the armed forces.

There are THOUSANDS of transgender service members currently in the armed forces who are serving with HONOR, but are hiding themselves and in fear for their jobs and sometimes their lives. 

Being transgender has no medical basis for disqualification from serving in the armed forces. The American Medical Association has come to the realization and documented this further as a mere dysphoria.  The DODs guidance is based on out dated and inaccurate information.  Many recent studies further show that being transgender has no impact on the ability for a person to excel and serve with honor.  The DSM-5 should be the standard.

Thirteen countries have allowed transgender persons to serve as equal members of the armed forces.
Brazil 1969
Netherlands 1970s
Canada 1992 
New Zealand 1993
Israel 1993
United Kingdom 1999
Czech Republic 1999
Thailand 2005 
Sweden 2007 
Belgium 2007  
Spain 2007 
Uruguay 2009 
Australia 2010 

There are hundreds of reports and statistics from our allies in which transgender service has had no impact; very similar to our own experiences with the repeal of DADT.

I implore you and your staff to set up a committee and come to a decision before we lose more qualified soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to antiquated regulations. 

I implore you to make this leap forward in FREEDOM for ALL AMERICANS and an equal opportunity for qualified and eager Americans to serve our great nation in the armed forces.

Humbly at your service,
Kristin Beck
USN SEAL(ret)

 

Reference:

Full text of President Trumans speech on June 29th 1947: http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3345

Australian Air Force Handbook on Transition: http://defglis.com.au/guides/GenderTransition.pdf

Other Helpful Links:
www.hrc.org/documents/HRC-Workplace-Gender-Transition-Guidelines.pdf
www.wpath.org
www.wipeouttransphobia.com/myth-buster/