Read the DoD policy. No one is being forced to shower with a woman (as if that would be bad). I cannot find now whether it was Steve Russell (R-OK) or Duncan Hunter (R-CA), both veterans, but one of them was adamant about not wanting to be forced to do that. In fact, SecDef's policy is that you have your birth gender right up to the last cut or paste, at which point all of your records are changed and you assume your new gender among your gender.

We just went through this briefing last month. I got a copy of the Public Affairs Office slide deck so that I could comment on them, but I was cautioned not to release them as a set.

Gender is the new race. We are not yet over that one, but we are getting there...

There's a bit more to it than best qualified. Living in a birthing area with more than 50 other men for a portion of my life (3 high bunk beds) there is a level of community and social interaction that is unavoidable.

I served during don't ask, don't tell. A respectful solution that wouldn't work for transgendered. Frankly, I wouldn't want to shower with or around it, nor would I expect women (I did not serve on board with female sailors) these days to wish to accommodate it either.

Should an organization select the people who are best qualified for the job description or shouldn't they? Is gender confusion any less likely to interfere with performance on the battlefield as flat feet?