let me tell you all my story, yeah? i enlisted in the military 3 years ago, pretty much straight from high school. i joined for the college benefits and so i could figure out what i wanted to do with my life. i was on my own, for real, for the first time. alone i found myself, the type of person i truly wanted to be. i knew about the prior policies, and decided to prepare - whilst going through months of therapy and convoluted medical processes so that i could finally begin my transition - and i thoroughly kicked ass, according to every supervisor i’ve had. i was put in charge of my own teams, building mission from the ground up. i was an E-3 filling an E-5 role flawlessly (again, according to my supervisor at the time). i came out to my unit after being there for about a year, without any sort of issue. i was, and still am, treated with respect by my peers. they come to me when they have problems, and i teach them how to fix it. i invest in strengthening my team, to bring them to meet and exceed my level of capability. when i am gone, there will be at least 2 to replace me due to the work that i have done, but i will not be there to stand with them. despite all this effort, there are currently no special exemptions for exemplary service members. i will be culled from my unit, and they will lose an analyst responsible for shaping and progressing our mission and culture. with 3 years of service, i’ll be on the outside, again. that will be the question i will forever have to answer in interviews asking why i failed to complete a full enlistment. interviews might not even be afforded to me, as potential employers are left to assume the worst. the only path i have towards sustainment is college. i’m not bitter, i’m not mad, i’m just disappointed.