Alisa M. Schafer

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

MANITOWOC - The recent lifting of the U.S. military’s ban on transgender personnel has long-reaching effects, even in Manitowoc.

Retired Col. Sheri Swokowski, vice chairman for the Fair Wisconsin Education Fund, was born and raised in Manitowoc. She said she was happy to hear the announcement from U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter that the military no longer discriminates against transgender troops.

“I’m just elated, particularly for those who are still in the military,” Swokowski said. “They won’t have to sacrifice their authenticity any more for their military careers. That is something I did for a long time.”

June 30, the U.S. Department of Defense repealed the ban on transgender service members. Transgender people have been banned from the military because of medical concerns.

“I applaud Carter for this decision and his leadership,” Swokowski said. “This really creates a win-win situation for everyone involved. … The DoD has finally become an equal opportunity employer, and now they really will leave no one behind.”

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Swokowski, who is the highest ranking, retired and openly transgender person in the U.S. military, was assigned male at birth in 1950. She grew up in Manitowoc and entered the military, where she served as an infantry officer. She retired in 2004 and, soon afterwards, accepted a position as a lead course instructor at the U.S. Army Force Management School in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

“I often wonder how much better of a military officer I would have been if I had been allowed to my authentic self,” Swokowski said.

She began her physical transition to a female body in 2006. It was at this time she finally told her family and her colleagues about being transgender. According to Swokowski, her confession was met with mixed results.

“I’ve lost touch with a lot of family members,” she said.

She added her colleagues seemed supportive. However, when she returned to work at the school in Fort Belvoir as Sheri after her reassignment surgeries, she was told her replacement had already been hired.

It was that incident that spurred Swokowski’s activism for transgender rights. She began working with U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, then a U.S. representative, to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for federal and government contract employees.

“After the recent policy changes on gay marriage, agencies have turned their attention to people who have been left behind, such as transgender people,” Swokowski said. “While this (recent policy change by the DoD) was a collaborative effort, it has only become a reality because of the brave men and women who pushed the issue and who came out to their commanders over the last two years.”

The change in the DoD’s policy on transgender people came after similar changes to policies regarding gay and lesbian troops five years ago. Earlier this year, the DoD also changed its policies about allowing women to service in frontline combat roles.

“This is the right thing to do for our people and for the force,” Carter said. “We’re talking about talented Americans who are serving with distinction or who want the opportunity to serve. We can’t allow barriers unrelated to a person’s qualifications prevent us from recruiting and retaining those who can best accomplish the mission.”

The Pentagon commissioned a study on the effects of the ban on transgender troops in the military. According to the study by RAND Corp., between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender troops are in the active-duty force of 1.3 million. Of those troops, it is estimated between 30 and 140 would seek hormone treatment, and 25 to 130 would seek surgery. Financially, that would come to between $2.4 million to $8.4 million, per year.

The repeal on the ban takes effect immediately. However, transgender people will not be able to change their gender markers until the DoD has created medical protocol and educated military leaders about transgender issues. The DoD expects to have those changes in place by October, according to an announcement from Carter’s office.

Alisa M. Schafer: 920-686-2105 or alisaschafer@manitowoc.gannett.com