wahtisthisidonteven

Service members can choose to have other elective surgeries, like laser eye surgery. This also makes them undeployable for a time.

The fact that nobody ever cares about that but this is such a big deal makes it clear that "readiness" is a red herring to many of the people against trans service members.

I was also back at work the next day after Lasik. The profile it puts you on still renders you undeployable.

Undeployable doesn't mean bedridden.

Tax payers pay for the military healthcare system.

There's a former National Guardsman I work with...likes to tell me how they "know a lot more about other countries that civilians don't because of all my military training" because they served in the Guard 5 years ago....

If your friend deployed they're probably referring more to the "life experience" side of traveling, as opposed to sensitive military stuff. Most civilians, particularly in the US, will never travel to a third-world area, or get that perspective.

Usually the guys who are lying about service pick cooler jobs to lie about.