Were any of you drafted into the service, and did you stop dressing while in?

[Alice Torn]

I would think that would have been extremely tough to do. But, we humans adapt when push comes to shove. I never dressed while in the service, nor desired to. I did not really dress much until i was 50.

[Stephanie47]

I was drafted and served two years in the infantry. I saw combat in Viet Nam. Before I was in the army my cross-dressing activity was limited to trying on my mother's clothing. While in the army I had absolutely zero interest in cross-dressing. Of course, on base there was limited privacy and limited time to cross dress, even if I had the desire. Back in the 1960's I thought cross dressing desires meant I was gay. There was no information concerning cross-dressing anywhere to be found. It wasn't until after marriage my cross-dressing desires were rekindled.

[RenneB]

Nope wasn't drafted. Volunteered in the late 70's after the draft was over. Did 3 years in FRG and never saw Renee.


Rennee.....

[Kate Simmons]

I enlisted Louise. Even so I had opportunities to dress in the Army, I even did so while in Nam.:)

[Alice Torn]

I joined in 1975, at 21, but, had not dressed since teen age yrs. Was not sure if it was homosexual activity, or not. Wow Denise, even in Nam? You got guts!

[RADER]

I faked them out, I got my draft notice, and went down to the Navy and signed up
in the CB's I did not have the chance to dress, specially in Viet-Nam.
Rader

[tamarav]

Yup, drafted in 1967.
Nope, no dressing (even though it was on my mind a lot). Jungle patrols were not conducive to anything but total awareness.

[Alice Torn]

Wow! I never went to war, just North Dakota. No pantyhose as mosquito protection! You Nam vets have my respect. Never been there , never done that. But, a hellish family, am still dealing with, probably til death.

[NicoleScott]

Enlisted and allowed to choose my field to avoid certain draft. Never dressed, but on a few occasions (on leave usually) I was able to slip away alone to feed my lipstick fetish.

[sandra-leigh]

For the benefit of those like me who didn't grow up in the USA:

I have heard crossdressing (and homosexuality?) were grounds for a dishonorable discharge -- but what was the situation if you were drafted and you went to the registration and disclosed your status at that time? Would it have been a "medical exemption" or would they have taken the trouble to formally accept you and promptly dishonorably discharge you, or something else?

I ask this in the context of having heard that there are numerous penalties for dishonorable discharge, such as not being able to get some kinds of government jobs or not being able to use some kinds of government grant programs. If you were "unfit for duty" due to cross-dressing, then did the same kind of permanent punishment get layed against you if you openly admitted to the cross-dressing from the beginning ?

[Debglam]

Didn't dress in the service but my desire didn't go into overdrive until recently - after I retired. I was always amazed at how much CD related porn would be lying around. :eek: It had to belong to SOMEBODY & I always wondered who.

When I see posts like this and the one that went out on Veterans Day I keep thinking who else in my various units was of a like mind. Had to be more (probably much more) than a few!

Thanks for your service!

Debby

[Debglam]

For the benefit of those like me who didn't grow up in the USA:

I have heard crossdressing (and homosexuality?) were grounds for a dishonorable discharge -- but what was the situation if you were drafted and you went to the registration and disclosed your status at that time? Would it have been a "medical exemption" or would they have taken the trouble to formally accept you and promptly dishonorably discharge you, or something else?

I ask this in the context of having heard that there are numerous penalties for dishonorable discharge, such as not being able to get some kinds of government jobs or not being able to use some kinds of government grant programs. If you were "unfit for duty" due to cross-dressing, then did the same kind of permanent punishment get layed against you if you openly admitted to the cross-dressing from the beginning ?

My understanding, and I did some legal work in the service (1980's - 2000's), is that if they found out before you went in they just wouldn't take you - end of story. If they "caught" you, homosexuality was specifically prohibited and you could be punished for that. CD'ing or any other transgender or transsexual conduct would be considered a mental problem and you would be medically separated. Now with that said, there is no such thing as military "justice." It is all about discipline and there are a number of catch-all military laws i.e. "conduct unbecoming a _____" so if they really want to stick it to someone they can find a way.

Same thing applies to discharges. There are a number of categories of discharges, from memory : Honorable, Other Than Honorable (OTH), Bad Conduct, and Dishonorable Discharges. A court martial can award any one they see fit. You burn down the motor pool but the court likes you - out with an OTH. Steal a pack of gum or let's say you get caught CD'ing and they have some charge they can prefer against you, court can award a Dishonorable Discharge and you lose all of your veterans benefits.

Now this doesn't happen too often, primarily because it costs money. Duing my time in the service, if they had a reason to get rid of someone they would try and do it the easiest and quickest way possible.

[Jamie48]

Yes I was drafted into the Army and no I didn't dress for two years.

[Alice Torn]

I was kicked out of the service early, got an honorable. It was not because of cding, or crimes. It was an unusual situation. Today, they would have had to keep me in, if i did not want to leave. I do wish i could have stayed in for 20.

[Jessica Keys]

Yes, also was drafted in the Army in 68 and also had my Asian vacation.
I dressed before the Army got me and was even going out enfem as being skinny kid with a nice butt I could pass easly.
Got my draft notice and that scared me "stright". Just wanted to survive that year, unlike others I saw. LOL I got out and never even thought about dressing again till two years later when my mine had "other issues" and got started again. Now, just not as offen and not going out anymore. (sob)
What a waste of a year....I will always miss it in my life.

[sandra-leigh]

I read a posting on here a while back that suggested that in the US military, cross-dressing while off duty could still be charged as a breach of the uniform dress regulations ?

[Tina B.]

Two year Navy Reserves, spent the whole time on board ship, we where not allowed civilian clothes on board, just are uniforms, so no, never a chance but then I never thought about it either, so it didn't matter. We sailed off the coast of Nam, saw it from a mile out, just before the war got going big time, glad we didn't make landfall, even without the bombs falling it looked very unfriendly.
Tina B.

[Mary Morgan]

Drafted in 1969, ordered to Viet Nam, MOS 11Bravo, orders flagged and sent to Alaska. Yes I did.

[Rachel Mari]

Joined the Navy in 76. The draft was over by then. Spent 10 1/2 years active with 6 1/2 of that on aboard ships. Never dressed on the ship, it would've been difficult to hide in a berthing comparment with 90 other guys. Did dress up on several occasions in my apartment out in town (when no one was around).

[Debglam]

I read a posting on here a while back that suggested that in the US military, cross-dressing while off duty could still be charged as a breach of the uniform dress regulations ?

I would guess that the "uniform dress regulations" are actually the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). That is the body of military law. Off duty CD'ing could fall under one of the "conduct unbecoming" rules in the UCMJ. Pretty much anything they don't like can fall under "conduct unbecoming."

[KandisTX]

While I was not drafted, I did serve in the Air Force. Yes, I did crossdress while on active duty.

[GeorgieMacD]

I was drafted in '70 and stopped for 2 years. I guess I was too busy. Got right back on that bicycle in '72.

[Carol Elizabeth]

I was drafted / enlisted - but didn't crossdress while in military. I didn't start crossdressing until out of the military and then was married. Silly story, started off as play with my wife - halloween costume - etc., but discovered it was fun. (There are times I think she thinks she opened "Pandora's Box" but that is a different post.)

[Juanita O]

I enlisted in the Air Force in 1978, no CD activity until I got out in 1982.

[MyBlackTights]

I just want to say THANK YOU! to all of you that served.............none of you get the thanks you all deserve...

[Amy Lynn3]

Drafted in 1965 and my dressing was limited while in the Army, but opportunities did come by and I never let them slip.

[5150 Girl]

Well,,, I wasn't born untill '68 'nam was over before I was out of grade school. My best freind from HS joined the Navy and wanted me to go with. I never did because I knew I was like this, and very much in the closet about it. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to "controll myself" for the 3 year hitch. I do feel I have missed out on somthing by not going in.
But then again, a couple years after he signed up, he ended up in the "sand box". I held my breath for those 100 days hoping this thing wouldn't go to a draft, again, because I knew I couldn't live without my true inner self.

[Alice Torn]

Thanks you all for serving and sharing, and those who were not in, thanks also for sharing. Sadly, I was only in the service a bit over seven months, but got Honorable.

[Patty B.]

Low draft # in 71, enlisted and made it to thailand not nam. Fortunate in that respect, but no dressing for those 3 years, if caught was grounds for dishonorable discharge.

[Cathrine]

Hi i am not form the U.S. but from South Africa, i was forced to do military service for a year, had no time to dress was to busy trying to survive, Pre 1994 days was ruff, was in special services battalion so alot of township duty ( patrols in the townships where the ANC were held up, basically every township) once i left the service i jumped right into being the true me and never looked back

[raleighbelle]

Yes, I was in the military for several years, and dressed when I could, secretly, as often as I could, in my own home. I have always done it whenever I could since I was a small child, but unfortunately, it is still only done in secret. Though I did not have much in the way of female clothing then (unlike now) it was always a real problem when moving from one assignment to another, trying to make sure none of the clothes got found, or that I had a damned good excuse for it.

[BillieJoEllen]

Got my draft notice in 68. Went down to see if I could enlist under a different MOS. I could but would have to stay in for an extra year. Wound up having to purge all my lovely, feminine clothes. (I dumped them in the country). It made me feel sick when I did that. After all my training I wound up being sent to Viet Nam after all. After a year there I was transferred to Germany. I obsessed about CDing everyday I was in the service. Couldn't wait to get out to continue CDing. Of course my first few shopping trips were a hoot.

[Jean Marie]

I was drafted, but joined USAF instead, my dressing was of course limited. But during that stage of my life I was still in denial of me feminine side so was not a huge impact at that time. If I had to go into military now, it would be devasting. But likely I would be rejected since I am on female hormone therapy

[charlytuna]

drafted 1970 stop dressing for about 1 yr. then got ship to east africia ,ethiopia, after little while got a apartment off base and dress in my off time never ventured out the apt. though

[leesametz]

enlisted age 20 in 85 United States Air Force...

had only ever underdressed prior to that time. still wore panties, pantyhose or thighhighs on occasion in my house (after divorce) or in the dorm when i PCSd and couldnt live off base...

didnt really crossdress fully until id been out 5-6 years (late 90s)...

[JulieK1980]

I wasn't drafted. I'm much to young for that. But I served in the Navy from 2002-2008 as a Hospital Corpsman. I dressed while I was in, but much more rarely out of fear of being caught.

While I was in, the standard for a crossdresser was a medical screening, and possible mental health diagnosis with a medical separation. I only saw one example of that though in 6 years of service. These days (In the Navy at least) it's mostly ignored if someone gets caught. I'm curious to see if the repeal of DADT will have any effect on it.

[christinac]

The draft was pretty much a thing of the past by the time I was old enough to serve. Obviously, you still had to sign up for the draft, but by the time I was old enough to serve there wasn't anyone that I know of being drafted anymore.

[Sarah Doepner]

I didn't get drafted during that conflict that made the draft a necessity, but didn't crossdress much during that time either. I'm thinking it may have been my age, the number of distractions, reduced privacy, limited opportunities and access to women's clothing, that kept my time en femme to a minimum. Similar conditions and outcome from a totally different environment.

[sissystephanie]

Nice to read about all you children who served in the military! God Bless all of you!! I said children because I served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War!! And yes, I was a CD at that time. Of course I never dressed while onboard ship, which was most of the time. I actually spent 3 years, 10 months, and 29 days in the service. Of that time, 40 months was spent aboard ship!! I did dress enfemme sometimes when on leave and away from any military presense!

To answer a question asked earlier, if I had been caught dressing enfemme I would have been courtmartialed and kicked out of the Navy for sure!! It was definitely against regulations!!