Transgender Military Ban Repeal Saved an FIU Student’s Dreams

Kristian Mendez shakes his general’s hand at a promotion ceremony. Photo contributed by Kristian Mendez.

Jesse Fraga / Assistant News Director

For years, an FIU senior and navy reservist, battled between fighting for himself and his country, until last week.

Kristian Mendez, 24, joined the military in Dec. 2018 around the same time he began questioning his gender identity. Now, he identifies as a transgender man.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday Jan. 25, allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military, rolling back a previous mandate from the Trump administration.

Mendez is one of thousands of transgender service members who may finally begin their transition.

“I have more pride now, knowing I can be myself while still being able to serve my country,” said Mendez. “It just felt so surreal because I’ve been waiting two years for this to happen.”

A 2015 ban by the Trump administration, barred transgender indivduals with gender dysphoria from enlisting, or continuing to serve in the military if they planned to medically transition. The policy officially went into effect in Jan. 2019. 

Trump claimed this was due to “tremendous medical costs and disruption that [transgender people] in the military would entail.”

However, the Rand Corporation, an international nonprofit research institute, found that this would have a “minimal impact” on military health care costs, as expenditures would only increase by 0.04 to 0.13 percent.

In a statement released by the White House, “President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity.”

PantherNOW began following Mendez’ journey in September. What started as a threat to Mendez’ career, emerged into a story of perseverance, resilience and bravery.

“I’m in the military fighting for our freedom but I didn’t have the freedom to be who I am,” said Mendez, who dreamed of serving the country since he was 18 years old.

During the final months of Trump’s presidency, Mendez hoped the future president would repeal the original policy so he could continue his dream and career as a navy reservist. 

Last September, Mendez told PantherNOW, “I really, really want to [transition],” he said, with tears in his eyes. “I’m probably going to end up leaving the military because I don’t want to wait any longer to start. It sucks because I don’t want to [leave].”

As the global pandemic progressed, in-person trainings turned into remote workshops. Mendez said this was in his favor, as there is now less communication between troop members.

“When I am at the base [in-person], I get misgendered constantly,” he said. “I can’t keep jeopardizing my mental health for the military.”

Nearly 50 percent of transgender people between the ages of 13 and 24 in the United States are denied LGBTQ+ mental health services, according to a 2020 study by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention nonprofit. 

Additionally, 81.7 percent of transgender individuals reported seriously thinking about attempting suicide, according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, the largest and most recent national transgender survey of almost 28,000 respondants.

During his three years in the navy, Mendez was out as a trans man to only a few friends at his base, but not to chiefs or generals.

“I technically could tell them, but I just feel like it’s going to cause unnecessary drama, so I just keep it to myself,” said Mendez.

Sexual or gender discrimination in the military has been prohibited since 2011, when President Barack Obama repealed the historic Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy restricting homosexuals from serving in the military. However, Trump’s ban of transgender service members was a set back for the LGBTQ+ community.

Jose Gabilondo, FIU professor and LGBTQ+ researcher of law, said the stigma of coming out while in the military is still prevalent in present-day armed forces.

“The word sex was not understood [by the Supreme Court], until very recently, to apply to someone who is being discriminated against because of their gender status,” said Gabilondo. “It’s now more of an open question about how much protection transgender people have under federal law.”

Mendez was training at his first bootcamp in Dec. 2018 when he heard about Trump’s ban.

The nutritional science major recalled his chief advising him to, “just worry about getting through bootcamp,” when Mendez asked how the ban would affect him.

Troops were not allowed to medically transition under Trump’s time in office. In order to start medically transitioning, one would have to be approved for discharge through a separation process.

At the time, the separation process was uncommon. Less than one percent of troops identified as transgender in 2018, or approximately 8,980 according to the Palm Center, an LGBTQ+ nonpartisan research institute.

Last year, Mendez struggled to decide if he should stay in the military and suppress his identity, or put his transition and himself first.

“I’d still get a discharge label but it would be a general discharge [not honorable], which is not fair, because I didn’t do anything wrong,” said Mendez.

According to Mendez, his base’s medical department didn’t know how to handle his process of starting hormone replacement therapy for his transition last year.

“They’re so oblivious,” said Mendez. “I was like, ‘Look I want to start hormone therapy,’ and they didn’t even know what was going on,” in regards to the policy.

Mendez added this sense of unawareness and ignorance followed him throughout his years serving under the Trump Administration. Thus, he took it into his own hands to learn how to begin the separation process.

Kristian Mendez smiles with a camera in hand. Photo contributed by Kristian Mendez.

In December, he received confirmation from his doctor, stating that he could finally receive a testosterone prescription since he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Later that month, he filed the letter of diagnosis to the base’s medical department to begin the separation process. However, he would have to wait for the Department of Defense to approve the separation request to take the testosterone, which could take up to six months.

Mendez held off until the day before the 2020 presidential election to pick up the prescription he waited two years for, hoping Biden would win and reverse the ban.

“I wanted to be prepared, either Biden is going to win and I could take the [testosterone] or… [if Trump wins], I need to get my prescription and my hormone replacement therapy letter so that I could begin my separation process,” Mendez said, describing his thoughts during the nights before the election results were announced.

Following Biden’s executive order, Mendez withdrew his separation request, as he may now remain in the military while medically transitioning to physically align with his gender identity.

“I just have this rush of relief,” said Mendez. “[The testosterone is] literally in my bedroom, I’m just waiting for the official go-ahead to start taking them.”

While Biden’s executive order passed, Gabilondo explained troops cannot medically transition just yet.

“Even after removing the ban, the Pentagon has to come up with implementation rules,” said Gabilondo. “So I think that the immediate steps they’re doing are just sort of temporary until everything is secure.”

Mendez plans to meet with his doctor to start hormone replacement therapy once the new guidance is established. His mother, girlfriend and close friends are supporting him through it all.

“At this point, I’m not really scared,” he said. “I’m just so happy that I’m able to transition that I really don’t give a sh*t what [service members] think.”

Kristian Mendez poses with his girlfriend, Ashley Martinez, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

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