Photo courtesy of Cathrine Schmid
- A transgender soldier shared her coming out journey and her experiences over more than a decade in the military.
- Finding support in the queer community and organizations like SPARTA was key to her resilience in tough times.
- She found support, transitioned, and fought to change military policies.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sgt. Cathrine Schmid, an Equal Opportunity Advisor and Signals Intelligence Analyst for the 704th Military Intelligence Brigade at Fort Meade. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.
I didn't think of being trans as an identity or as a social group or as a movement, it was more just experiencing dysphoria and wishing I could be free of it.