Utahns say allowing transgender people to serve will strengthen military

(KUTV) Sue Robbins, an electrical engineer and retired member of the U.S. Army, felt emotional when she heard the U.S. Military will allow transgender people to serve openly.

"It's past time," she said, thrilled the new rules will benefit young enlistees - even though the change comes too late for her.

"A lot of us were not able to experience being real while we were in the military," she said.

When Robbins joined the Army in 1979, she lived as a young man and was too afraid to reveal her true self. It was a scary time for transgender people who felt harassment, discrimination and violence.

Being transgender in the "macho" military environment was not only allowed but unthinkable.

"It's very common to hear people say they went into the military to 'man up' so they could fight their feelings," she said.

While her feelings for being a woman increased, she buried them until she retired from the Army, 20 years later. She began her transition into becoming the woman she knew she was inside.

Today, she lives with her wife whom she married while she was in the military and supported and loved her through her transition. They have three children.

She says the transition process has been years-long and she's pretty much fully there. Robbins feels comfortable and happy in her life, so she volunteers as a board member for the Pride center in Salt Lake which advocates for and supports people in the LGBTQ community.

Robbins said by allowing transgender people to serve openly, the military lifts the burden of many service members who are living with immense stress of hiding their true selves. This creates incredible stress, depression and leads many to suicide.

Robbins said the suicide rate among the transgender community is at about 40 percent.

She said lifting those burdens from service members will allow them to serve better and will strengthen the military.

"Especially in combat - do you want someone who is distracted by those things? Or entirely focused?"

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said by October 1, military members who are transgender troops can begin receiving medical care to help them transition into their preferred gender and they can formally start changing their gender identity in the pentagon's personnel system.

The new rules address the use of bathrooms and housing facilities but give some discretion to commanders.

New enlistees will have to be stable in their gender identities for 18 months before joining.

A study commissioned by Carter, said the number of transgender service members overall is small enough that the cost of providing services to them will not be high.

The study said there are an estimated 1,320 - 6,630 transgender troops who are in the "Active Component" and about 830-4160 in the "Select Reserve." Among those individuals, only a small fraction is expected to use transition-related medical services.

"It's going to create a period of social change in the military," said Robbins who said implementing the changes won't be as fast as flicking a light switch.

She said the military will have to set clear rules and then train all members to make sure everyone understands what it means to be transgender and how the rules will protect people.