Hello again everyone,

Created this thread to help with job searching. Feel free to add constructive posts to it!

Goal is to make it a helpful document for the group, especially younger members who may be entering the jobs arena without much guidance. It would be great to hear several individuals share their experiences, as I know not everyone shares the same story or goals.

I want to maintain a positive energy for it though, I understand that many have also had negative experiences. It is fine to speak about them if it means a constructive way to address what happened, or prevent negative situations in the future, but the thread is not a place for venting (We can make a venting thread though if it's desired).

Discussion Board Thread: Job Searching

Thanks!

-Hawk

Hello everyone!

First bit of news: Promoted Ϻîřẩ to officer status to help me manage the group. She's a knowledgeable and responsible individual I've had the pleasure of knowing and speaking to for a while now, and take's the post seriously. :)

Second: It seems the former admins of the group left, and if anyone has some info on this please let me know. In the meantime, I'd like the group to be useful for people so feel free to comment below if you have ideas. Both myself and Ϻîřẩ are frequently in the chat room too. Please remember to keep it mature in there though.

Thanks!

Hawk

Looks like it's official!

It was announced today and is effective, though implementation still needs to be hammered out by the branches over the next year.

Link:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/politics/transgender-ban-lifted-us-military/

Now transgender troops will no longer be considered “medically unfit” for military service. By October, transgender troops may begin an official process to change gender in the military personnel management systems.

The Pentagon will pay for health care support related to gender transition in cases where a military medical doctor determines that is necessary, according to the new policy.

Leadership has 90 days to work out the following:

• How the military health system will provide care to transgender troops, to include medical support for gender transitions.
  
• When a transgender service member will begin adhering to a different gender’s grooming standards and uniform-wear rules.
  
• How and when a transgender service member will transition to new physical fitness standards.
  
• When a commander should consider moving transgender soldiers into alternative barracks or berthing quarters.
  
• How unit-level commanders should address a range of issues related to deployments, job assignments and training that may arise among troops undergoing gender transition.
  
• How troops can undergo the bureaucratic process for changing their gender marker in the official Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, known as DEERS.

By early 2017, the services will begin conducting forcewide training about transgender service members for commanders, military doctors, recruiters and the rank-and-file force.

The new policy sets a deadline of one year, or July 2017, for the military to begin allowing transgender recruits to enlist or be commissioned into the officer corps.

Under the policy, the services can continue to reject prospective recruits who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria — feeling that one's biological gender is the opposite of the one he or she identifies with emotionally and psychologically — unless a doctor certifies the individual has been treated and “stable” for at least 18 months and does not suffer from any significant distress or other impairment.

Prospective recruits who have undergone medical treatment associated with gender transition such as gender reassignment surgery or hormone therapy will require a doctor's approval to certify they have been stable in their preferred gender for at least 18 months.

Carter said the costs of the new policy would be minimal. He pointed to a recent study by the Rand Corp. that concluded there will be “minimal readiness impacts" and the health care costs would amount to “an exceedingly small proportion” of the overall military health care expenditures.

The Defense Department must weigh those costs against the costs of training individual service members, which often runs upward of $200,000 depending on the career field.

“Losing the benefit of that hundreds of thousands of dollars in training, for the savings of $40,000 to $50,000 in lifetime cost, it doesn’t seem like a very good trade off to us," said a senior defense official who asked not to be identified when speaking about the Pentagon’s internal deliberations.

Transgender troops will have to have a personal transition plan approved by a military doctor, which is a standard requirement for major procedures for active-duty troops.


You can find more info online! Just ignore the ignorant comments.

-Hawk

Woah, this past couple weeks flew by; due to new job stuff I was a bit delayed this time.

Another Trans themed webcomic (Courtesy of Hawke; love the name <3): https://www.facebook.com/transgirlnextdoor.


This is an amazing story. It really goes to show that you never know how powerful your voice can be. While I understand that there are quite a few strong political views surrounding the situation Marcelas was in, you have to take a moment to admire the motivation this individual had for wanting to make a positive change as well as the bravery it took to stand in the White House at such a young age. After participating in the push for the Affordable Care Act at 11, she has chosen to make an effort towards positive progress in the transgender realm at the age of 17.

Full Article[www.cnn.com]


Norway's healthcare ministry on Friday proposed allowing people to legally change their gender without the need for any surgery, hormone treatment or sterilisation, a move hailed by Amnesty International.
Full Article[www.thelocal.no]

UK Officer speaks on her experience in the Army transitioning:
Transgender Officer in the Army Hails 'positive attitude'
Full Article[www.bbc.com]

Have to go for now. Keep up the good efforts everyone!

Thanks for your patience on this one, had a busy week!

Invitation to Contribute
Just wanted to throw this out there, if anyone wants to contribute something to this newsletter feel free to send me a message or link it in the comments section! Would be a way to showcase your achievement, artwork, life stuff, etc. Just keep in mind this is a public group so everyone can see it.

Alternatively you can also let me know you want to be anonymous, and (as long as it follows group rules etc.) I'll be happy to post something for you!

First off thanks for the comment bringing up the comic 'Validation' Erika, I've been reading into it and so far really enjoying it:

Validation Web Comic [www.validationcomic.com]


The inaugural Trans 100 list, 2013 edition. Think of this list as a possible list of 'Role models' to choose from; if they figured out a way to accomplish what they did, then the path exists. :)

The first effort of its kind, the list intends to shift the coverage of trans issues by focusing on the positive work being accomplished, and providing visibility to those typically underrepresented. A launch event for the Trans 100 list took place at Mayne Stage in Chicago on International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day which aims to bring attention to the accomplishments of transgender people around the world.
Full Article[wehappytrans.com]

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WeHappyTrans.com is an interesting site I found in case you haven't heard of it, hosting many Q/A videos from the community. Unfortunately looking at the dates on some of the posts, it seems like they were most active in 2013. Still a great source of just being able to see other faces in the community, and realize you are not alone!
WeHappyTrans*[wehappytrans.com]

- - -

Just posting this as an FYI, this years elections are enormously important for the LGBT community in the U.S. due to the fact that the next president will likely be the one to appoint several supreme court justices and have the power to change the entire landscape for better or worse for many years to come.
(United States) Vote for acceptance. Know the facts about LGBT issues this election.
Full Article[www.glaad.org]

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Italian LGBT advocates to host first-ever Diversity Media Awards
Full Article[www.glaad.org]


Unfortunately the Meetup I had schedule for this past Tuesday was moved forward to this coming Tuesday, so I will have to report back after that! It was moved because we had Super Tuesday caucusing going on. I highly encourage anyone and everyone to get involved in the political process, if at the very least throwing in your (informed and researched) vote. I'm speaking from the U.S. standpoint here, but I would imagine this being an important subject everywhere.

That being said I can talk about my experience going to an LGBT running group for the first time, on my own, back in 2015. For me at least, it was super scary. I figured everyone there likely knew each other for a while, I'd be the strange newcomer, and I had no idea (besides the fact we'd be running) what to expect. I remember getting ready to go the first time and being so scared that I sat in my car shaking until the weekly event was over, and just walked back to the dingy apartment I lived in at the time.

My significant other at the time kept pushing me however, at the very next week I showed up by myself at the spot the group was supposed to meet in. I still remember having to keep myself from shaking, like a stray who'd had one too many things thrown at them in the past but still hoped for a bit of friendship. This was a couple years after I'd already given up hope that I'd be able to repair things with my family, and it felt like being shunned by a new group of people would threaten to reopen all those wounds.

It can be really, really hard to overcome that and feel that isolation is much better than even the risk of losing more people (even if we don't even know them yet). However, isolation really is worse. What I've come to learn is that not every relationship (friends or otherwise) will work out, but it's worth it going through that to find the few that do.

After finally going to the LGBT running event, I was warmly welcomed by everyone there and hardly anyone batted an eye that there was a newcomer. In fact there were other newcomers, and introductions went round before we went on the run. A couple of them even went out of their way to run slower with us newer and out of shape people, sharing a few life stories and getting to know each other as we spent the morning jogging. Many a laugh was had and it was really nice to realize you aren't the only one going through the struggles.

I mention all this because I want to encourage everyone to be brave and find those few who you can really connect with. I know from experience it's not easy to put yourself out there, but if you do it consciously (do research on groups of course) and remember that such interactions can be healing, it can really be worth it. ^_^