Had you made the 4 years and received a Commission, and served RA, you would understand where Im coming from. Academy life is FAR different from actual military life. The problems you face on AD with a Commission are FAR different from those at the academy. So yes, your opinion is subjective.All I can do is shrug my shoulders. I see the same arguments here that historically were used to try and bar black men from service. I did agree that transsexuals shouldn't serve as they need constant hormone treatment. To me that is the same as any other medical condition that requires constant medication. The rest, well we will have to agree to disagree on this and let history play out. And yes, I've been a bit combative to some, but simply because I was told my opinion doesn't matter. Others I have had discussions with and yes, have actually changed my opinion given new information.
And rc, you may not feel I've earned the right to be a veteran, but my two years were active duty. This isn't the citidel. I had to swear the same oath any other soldier takes, I followed the same regs from USMJ (plus a few others specific to WP). The only thing that was different was our dress uniforms. I actually do have a DD214. Had I not torn my acl in my first year I would have gone enlisted after I was removed from the academy. Due to missing two fitness tests I was told I would have to leave then sign up. In retrospect I should have done this, however I probably would not have met my wife. I am proud of the time I got to be in the Army. Met a lot of great people and had some fun. Not to mention I got to walk the halls that many of America's greatest generals walked. That feeling of history is one thing I cherished about my time there. It was my one big failure in life and took me a few years to process it and come to terms with it. So please, don't try to diminish it as irrelevant.