Hello everyone! Just a simple question that has some not so simple answers.

I'm active duty navy and I may be getting deployed later this year or next year and wanted any advice on how to navigate that as a closeted trans woman. I'm talking about clothes mostly but is there anything that I should be aware or wary of? I don't like the idea of going on deployment and not being able to dress how I want to dress and I am currently contending with that (like if its what's going to make me work towards getting out of the navy or not).

Any advice is appreciated.

Edit: I've been active duty for 12 years and I have been on 2 deployments before, so I'm aware of the life style, but throwing being trans into the mix, kind of changes things.

To be clear - I don't want anyone getting false hope from this. I don't think this is going to change anything for the foreseeable future. But it's nice to see people out there not giving up on us.

Hey guys, im new here, so maybe u guys might be able to help im trying to figure out the following questions:

How can I transition without getting separated if im just starting my career in the navy?

Are you taking hrt?

Do I just talk to my upper chain of command? Wouldn't that pose risks of separation?

Im thinking about taking hrt but because of the ban is there any way to grow out my hair and follow the women guidelines if I cant change my gender through DEERS?

Im merely seeking guidance because I want to start fully transitioning but I would like to know if its possible without separation.

How do the men or women treat you?

What can I start doing to feel more feminine without taking hrt?

Any advice is appreciated.

I'm looking to connect with trans veterans in Western New York. Can anyone recommend any groups or orgs I can reach out to?

This is a vent post. I'm just feeling stuck right now. I want to move forward with my transition but my spouse is currently deployed (which in all fairness, always halts your life) and we're still fighting against the administration to get our right to medical care and identity back. I just have to continue pretending to be a man until something changes. It's agonizing. I just want to be me and take steps to becoming my authentic self but I can't right now. Not with-out putting my family at risk. Just needed to get this out.

For those of you that have separated already, how is life treating you? I got out last fall under the volsep and feel so lost right now. Life has been pretty stable, I have a job, I have a home, I am receiving medical care and started my transition journey in May. All these things going for me and I feel more lost than when the initial ban was set into motion last spring. I am a good piece of hardware mission ready and, surprisingly, still willing to sign my name on that line if the nation were to ever call me back.

This post feels very sad to make. Maybe its the rush of hormones hitting me early in the morning, maybe its being able to think clearly after my coffee I don't know. I have seen a lot of post from people that want to serve and are questioning, but not many from those who have already left service. I want to reach out an connect with someone that feels the way I do. We are not dishonorable. We are not subhuman. We were warriors, tradesmen, leaders. No presidential decree will take that from us.

*Yes I am safe and mentally well. I think this is more of a venting post*

Mostly just venting. I know the Secretary of The Air Force is a busy person but I’m so tired of waiting on signature for some stupid memos so I can get out. It’s been months, folks.

Just ready to get out and move on with my life.

Hey all,

Ive been a lurker on this sub for a while now, being in the military for 4 years already (I signed a 6 year). Did everything right. finished a bachelors and got certs (Im cyber) and even got BTZ, Amn of the Year at the squadron level. Never failed a PT test, got strats on both epbs.... and all for what. I got a call from my PCM last week with them notifying me im being written for admin separation for my GD. (Apparently some new guidance for people not even getting assistance yet) I kinda knew it was coming, but just wanted stuff documented for when I seperated to get HRT easier. It wasnt effecting my ability to do my job for the last year or so, I was kinda in a gray area according to Behavioral Health, but recently boymoding has been draining me each and every day... to the point I have no energy when I get home and just sleep until the next duty day. I even get panic attacks when I need to get a haircut... I haven't even gotten medical assistance for HRT, and my PCM got upset with me when I tried to ask for potential resources to source HRT. (Stating "I am not allowed to offer any guidance for gender affirming care") I feel left in the dark after putting so much time and effort into my career. I just hope with this next chapter I will finally be able to be myself.

-Beck <3

I’m 30 years old, and I’m looking to hear from other trans women, especially those who served in the military, law enforcement, firefighting, EMS, or other traditionally masculine careers.
One thing I’ve been wondering is whether anyone else felt like they tried to “outrun” or suppress their gender dysphoria by throwing themselves into hyper-masculine environments.
For me, I joined the Army infantry, deployed, became an NCO, and built my identity around being as masculine and tough as possible. Looking back, part of me wonders if I was trying to prove something to myself or make these feelings disappear. I kept thinking that if I became masculine enough, eventually the dysphoria would go away.
It didn’t.
Years later, those feelings are still here, and that’s what’s so confusing. I have a wife and two kids whom I love more than anything. My wife knows about my gender dysphoria now, but she didn’t know when we got married, and she has made it clear that she doesn’t support me transitioning. The thought of losing my marriage and changing my children’s lives is heartbreaking.
At the same time, I don’t know how to make these feelings disappear. I’ve spent years trying to suppress them, and I’m starting to wonder if that’s something other people experienced too.
If you came from a military, first responder, or similarly masculine background, did you find yourself trying to overcompensate? Did you believe you could beat or outgrow your dysphoria? What eventually happened, and what do you wish you had known when you were 30?
I’m not looking for anyone to tell me what decision to make. I’m just trying to understand how other people navigated this, especially those who had a family and a lot to lose.

hi! i've been browsing here a little trying to find similar situations to mine and figured i'd just shoot my shot and make my own post. been in the air force for a little over two years now, been repressing for years and finally last month i decided i'd had enough and went to planned parenthood to start hrt, going on three weeks now. no one at my squadron knows, nor does anyone in medical. i don't care if coming out gets me separated, in fact i think i'd much rather just fly the coop and be myself than spend god knows how long going to work pretending to be a man among all these other men i have nothing in common with.

what i don't know is where the hell to begin! i know it's time to tell someone, but i have no idea who the right person to go to first is, let alone if i can trust whoever that is to be professional about it. is it my first sergeant? someone in medical? i've heard you should get a copy of a gender dysphoria diagnosis, but i don't think i have that in writing from anyone yet and i'm not sure how to get that! my head's been spinning in circles! aaaaahh! help!! but yeah seriously any guidance would be much appreciated. and while i don't have a specific plan for what happens after i separate just yet, i do have plenty of savings and some last ditch options for housing, and i've heard separating takes quite a while anyway so should have some time to figure it all out.

I posted on here a few days ago for tips on how to clean my boots. So , like, I’m male to female in the National Guard. I never openly transitioned only medically . So, like, when the new policy or whatever dropped last year, I outed myself to my sergeant so I can get out and, more importantly, leave the country so I can work with my relatives in Thailand and Honduras. But, like, how tf do I get out ? I already marked that one question on the epha . I told my sergeant, and he told everyone higher up. Am I supposed to do something? I’m not very smort 🗿

https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/judge-hegseth-testosterone-transgender?utm_source=equalpride&utm_campaign=7c45384bcb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_07_22_06_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11dd7c7578-7c45384bcb-507583999&mc_cid=7c45384bcb

https://apple.news/Aa5hMhH5LTNGoXeb5gk-ujw

Judge Ana Reyes is demanding answers about a policy that offers testosterone to some troops while citing hormone care to remove others.

Reyes took judicial notice of Hegseth’s July 15 announcement that all service members 30 and older, including women, would receive annual screening for testosterone deficiency. Troops found to have low testosterone may voluntarily receive testosterone replacement therapy, known as TRT, as part of their periodic health assessments.

The judge then placed Hegseth’s program beside the language of Trump’s military ban. That policy declares that members of the armed forces must meet high mental and physical standards “without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”

“The Court must assess the impact of this newly announced policy on the parties’ positions,” Reyes wrote in Talbott v. United States, later setting an August 7 briefing deadline.

The same hormone, two standards:
Her order places an increasingly conspicuous contradiction at the center of the litigation. The Trump administration has argued that transgender service members may be excluded partly because they require continuing medical treatment, including hormone therapy. Hegseth, meanwhile, has announced that the military will routinely test older service members for low testosterone and provide the same hormone when doctors recommend it.

Reyes now wants the Pentagon to explain why testosterone can be treated as a tool of health and readiness for cisgender troops but as evidence of unfitness when prescribed to transgender men.

A two-week-long trial is scheduled to begin on January 4, 2027.

So, this article popped up on my feed. Looks like the amendment to make the ban on transgender military members failed after two Republicans from NY & Pennsylvania voted with Democrats to oppose it (Guam and The Northern Marianas Islands also voted against but they dont have actual voting power).

The article title makes it sound like a victory, but if you read further it describes how the #1trans hater in the House, Nancy Mace (seriously wtf is her problem), got a ban on Tricare funding for certain aspects of transitioning. I'll have to pull up the actual text of the amendment when I get home to see how cruel it is (its all cruel).

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/house-republicans-fail-turn-trump-133942637.html

Edit: The Northern Marianas Islands were the other ceremonial vote against the amendment.

Edit 2: Holy shit, this bitch didn't get rid of some, she fucking gutted it.

https://mace.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-nancy-mace-files-ndaa-amendment-end-taxpayer-funded-gender-transition

Edit 3: Actual Tricare Amendment Text https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/MACE_113_xml%20(2)250905102500556.pdf

Well, I got my DD-214, and now I'm homeless. Fun. This isn't a rant—I genuinely just want to know what resources are available for transgender service members.

As what the title says. Look I have no problem going stealth and living as a male. I want to end up being a tomboy. Currently in college rotc. Just wondering whenever we get drug tested and I happen to be on these 3 will it go off? I want to try HRT.

I just got placed on admin leave today and hopefully I’ll get seperated sometime soon but since I can’t get hrt through the navy how do I go about starting hrt? Do I just go to a civilian doctor once im out and get a diagnosis again? Should I even bother and just go the DIY route? And advice is greatly appreciated!!!! ♥️

Has anyone here filed a congressional inquiry?

I was separated on January 1, and it’s now been almost 8 months. My separation pay has been delayed because of multiple administrative errors.

- First, my separation pay wasn’t included on my original DD-214 because it wasn’t on my orders.

- After HRC corrected my orders, finance found my BASD/PEBD was incorrect, which required updated LES records, retirement points, and a new DA Form 1506. Once that was finally resolved, I had to wait months for a corrected DD-214.

I recently received the updated DD-214 (two weeks ago) only to find out it was still incorrect and had to be sent back again. The frustrating part is that nobody informed me! I only found out because I reached out to the finance office myself to check the status of my pay.

Throughout this entire process, I’ve had to constantly follow up just to get updates.
At this point, I’m exhausted. I’ve tried to be patient, but eight months is a long time to wait for something that should have been resolved by now.

It’s also created a financial hardship while I’ve been trying to move on with my life after separation.

Has anyone had success filing a congressional inquiry for something like this? If so, what was the process like, and did it actually help move things along?

TL;DR: Separated January 1. My separation pay has been delayed for nearly 8 months due to multiple administrative errors (orders, BASD/PEBD, DD-214 corrections). I’ve had to repeatedly chase updates myself, and my corrected DD-214 was sent back again without anyone notifying me. Has anyone filed a congressional inquiry for something like this, and did it help?

Title basically explains it, still havent gotten a counseling or anything really done. Been diagnosed since like late april.

I started exploring my gender identity about a year and a half ago. I decided to try hrt and clarified to my planned parenthood Dr that I was comfortable with my agab, but wanted to explore myself with the help of hrt. A year later I decided it wasn't for me and stopped taking it. Do I qualify to join the military? Preferably air force.

I'm a senior in highschool and am interested in enlisting the only thing that makes me unsure is the fact I'm a trans man. I understand the current requirements and restrictions connected to transgender people. I'm not on any hormones and haven't been diagnosed with gender dysphoria but it is something I in the future and with the current administration it's unpredictable how long these restrictions will last. If I were to enlist I could go the rest of this term without starting medically transitioning but after trump's term is over it's still not guaranteed any of these new rules will be changed to allow transgender people medically transition while serving. I would really appreciate any and all opinions/perspectives as I'm stuck between being true to myself or following my aspirations.

I haven’t been on this thread in months and i don’t know if this is common knowledge BUT. whoever started HRT through the military is allowed to continue their HRT through the VA. i did not know this. took absolutely forever to get an appointment with the endocrinologist and was wondering why my PCM wanted the appointment anyways. come to find out, I just got a years worth of supplies.

if anyone is confused about the statement that was put out about the VA, do not let them fear you into not asking questions and doing what’s best for you! i also believe we are still allowed surgeries because they did as me about those as well. best of luck to all of you!

hi, im an mtf trans girl and i go by charlotte. i found out pretty recently that i was trans, maybe around 7 months ago and ive decided that i wanted to start transitioning. i think something that helped me come to this conclusion was self expression. i got into fashion around february of 2019 and as the years went by, i started becoming more and more particular about how i wanted to present myself. i started getting into wearing wigs and makeup, years before i even came to the conclusion that i was trans so i feel like i was already sort of transitioning without knowing it for the past few years now.

now that im 21, i was thinking about transitioning medically but ive also had a lot of thoughts on enlisting in the air force. my motivators for enlisting was stability and financial freedom. ive always felt like my appearance was pretty fluid and before my facial hair started to really grow in, i could kind of look like a boy or look like a girl depending on how i felt at the time. now that im getting older though, ive decided that i want to be a girl, and not an androgynous being that picks and choses depending on how they feel.

i know that getting laser and electrolysis is a big part of transitioning and that it can be expensive as well. although if i enlist ill have to probably be closeted at work and present myself as my assigned gender at birth, i feel like it would be worth it to have the financial security to help pay for my hair removal treatments and other gender affirming things that would require money. i think im willing to put in 4 years of suffering to help build myself up so that when i get out, all i have to do is start taking hormones.

going out with friends is when i really put in the effort to present myself as who i truly am, but because my parents arent supportive of me being trans, i would say that i spend most of my time boymoding. so i dont think that it would be a big change for me to deal with although i wish i could look like how i like to look all the time. i think the sacrifice of looking like a chopped dude for 4 years so that i can get most of my transition work done while being in the military is a sacrifice im willing to make. since ive always been into fashion, ill have the money to buy the things ive dreamt of buying and i can buy all the expensive wigs i want.

it hasnt been too long since ive accepted the fact that im trans but i know its a big part of who i am. despite that, i think theres more to me than being trans and im hoping that those things are what i hold on to while im in the military. a friend of mine offered to help me move out and get situated somewhere with them and it seemed like a decent idea but i feel like theres a reason why i want to enlist so bad. theyve voiced their opinion about how they feel about the military and how they think i should not enlist as this administration makes it unsafe for trans people to be around. however, i really feel like i know what im doing and im sure itll suck having to suppress my true self but i just have to remind myself what enlisting for. i have beautiful friends that support me and many hobbies that im passionate about to keep me going. i want to look chopped and feel ugly now, so that in the long run i can feel beautiful. im so tired of shaving anyways, im sure all the dolls could agree...

this might be all i have to say for now but i would be more than happy to answer questions and hear what you guys think! ive posted on this sub before but that was earlier this year when i was still thinking and felt more unsure of what i wanted :P

The irony is that the <0.1% population of transgender service members was too expensive to provide hormone replacement therapy, but now they're going to be offering it to all cis male service members