Mr Bombastic

Oh, IDK. The enemy might actually die laughing, without a shot being fired.

bahmer

Possibly but I wouldn't bet on it.

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

If you are the enemy and you shoot a transgender do you get credit for two kills?

Carol Kelly

Did she pay for her transgender surgery or did we, the taxpayers? I really don't think Jerry Falwell would be serving next to a Muslim. Bad analogy? In fact, who is this person, really?

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Check out the link at the bottom of my second post.

Weasel Loc: In the Great State Of Indiana!!

It's not who you are, it's what you are.
How are you going to be all that you can be in a mixed up body? Get help!

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

There's also this...

A Navy SEAL's biggest secret: Life as a transgender
Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY Published 12:22 p.m. ET June 4, 2013 | Updated 12:22 a.m. ET June 5, 2013
Former team members praise Beck's courage to come out after 20 years.

Story Highlights

Chris Beck served as a Navy SEAL for two decades
Beck carried the secret of identifying as female during service
Kristin Beck made the announcement on a LinkedIn page; she has written a book

In the super-secret world of the Navy SEAL, Chris Beck carried around an explosive secret of his own during his 20 years with the elite, all-male unit: a transgender life.

In the memoirs 'Warrior Princess,' published Saturday, retired Navy SEAL Kristin Beck — formerly Chris — writes about life struggling with her sexual identity and then going public.

Chris Beck served 20 years as a Navy SEAL, including seven combat deployments, and earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

Beck retired from Navy SEAL Team 6 in 2011, only months before it raided Osama bin Laden's hide-out, and was always careful to keep the secret close to the vest.

Kristin Beck, 46, who works as a military consultant in the Tampa area, decided in March to go public by posting a new LinkedIn profile picture of herself dressed as a woman.

"I am now taking off all my disguises and letting the world know my true identity as a woman," Beck wrote on her LinkedIn page.

Beck said some SEAL buddies thought at first that it was a joke, but she assured them it wasn't.

Beck began hormone treatments three months ago. She also received laser treatment to remove facial hair.

In the memoirs, Beck notes the irony of one mission as a Navy SEAL in which he was disguised as an Afghan man to blend in with female-hating Taliban men.

"It was weird that I could grow a beard and trick them into thinking I was one of them – and really I'm an Amazon woman in disguise as a U.S. military guy in disguise as a Pashtun!"

The book is dedicated to Beck's family, to the "underdogs, the activists, the downtrodden," and to SEAL teammates, to whom Beck offers a personal message: "I am still the same person with the same experience and the same spirit."

The memoirs, published by Advances Press, notes that Beck has been married twice and has two sons, but was often removed from their early life because of frequent deployments and to avoid dealing with personal issues.

The book includes some reactions from former team members, including praise for Beck's courage in the forward, which was written by former boss, retired Navy SEAL and astronaut William Shepherd.

Other reactions:

• "Being a SEAL is hard. This looks harder."

• "I am thankful that your decision was to confront your challenges rather than, as you stated in your own words, 'put a shotgun in your mouth.'

• "You're a Team Guy, first and foremost, and you always will be. I'll drink a beer with you anytime, anywhere, for any reason, no matter how you are dressed ... especially if you are buying."

Beck's co-author is Anne Speckhard, an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University Medical School, whose has specialized in post-traumatic stress disorder and counter-terrorism.

What's striking about Beck, Speckhard said in an interview with USA TODAY, is how normal she is. "She's healthy, normal, a next-door-neighbor person."

Speckhard described Beck, who attended the Virginia Military Institute, as a highly competitive individual who played sports in school and always wanted to serve in the military.

Speckhard said she does not see Beck's decision to join the Navy SEALs as an act of overcompensation, rather as fitting a character as a high achiever.

"As a woman, he would have joined the SEALs as well," Speckhard said. The Navy SEALs currently do not take female candidates.

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Please note that he served as a male. His DNA is still male. Today you can be a flea on a dog's butt if you choose and if that's what you want to be then that's supposed to be normal. But those us of us who have common sense know it's BS.

Super Dave Loc: Realville, USA

So... Political ambitions and writing a book. That explains being obnoxious.

But how does one identify as anything secretly? Is this like Hillary identifying as being President?

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

It has been pointed out that Beck's transformation was after retirement.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

From the looks of Beck's record/history with the Seals, the enemy was most likely dying without so much as a giggle.

obipaul

I thank you for your service. I think that you have great courage and I pity those who would berate you because they have never learned compassion or even how to think for themselves.

PaulPisces Loc: San Francisco

Thanks for sharing the story, Slatts.

But then, you are a true Texan from The Lone Star State where, once upon a time, people were judged on their individual achievements and everything else was irrelevant.

I'm thankful for the service of EVERYONE who has been in the military, regardless of their identity. Hell, I'm even thankful for the service of all the military folks on OPP, regardless of how they have reacted to this story, how they voted or how they treat me on this forum.

wuzblynd Loc: thomson georgia

👍👍👍👍👍

padremike Loc: Phenix City, Al

Obviously you don't know Texans!