To me, restrictions on transgender military service are personal. I am a transgender woman. Before my transition, I served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. I am proud of the value I provided the military during my 27-year career.

I am also a Republican who generously supports my party. While Democrats accept the pronoun I prefer, I firmly believe the best government is that which governs least. It’s a mistake for the Republican Party to ask me to choose between my true identity and my philosophy of government.

For much of my life, I couldn’t explore my femininity without significant risk. If the military discovered I dressed as a woman, felt like a woman and identified as a woman, my career would have ended immediately.

My wish is that more Americans understood the expression of gender. The medical community has known for decades that sex and gender cannot be determined solely by birth anatomy or chromosomes. There are many physical, social and psychological elements that form a person’s gender identity. Transgender people such as myself need to express our internal identify so that others can see us as we see ourselves. Think of this internal pull like a north-seeking compass. Whenever it is used, the compass will point to true north. Femininity is my true north.