Admiral Levine is now the first four star transgender general officer/flag officer in an of the United States’ uniformed services.
From The Washington Post:
A senior Biden health appointee who made history when she became the nation’s highest-ranking openly transgender official has also become its first openly transgender four-star officer.
Rachel Levine, the U.S. assistant secretary for health,wassworn in Tuesday as an admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, a 6,000-person force that responds to health crises on behalf of the federal government, including administering coronavirus vaccines and delivering care after hurricanes. Levine is also theorganization’s first-ever femalefour-star admiral.
The public health service is one of the nation’s eight uniformed services, although it is distinct from the six military services — including the Navy, Army and Air Force — by explicitly focusing on medical issues. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, whose officers command vehicles that probe hurricanes and map the seafloor, is also a uniformed service.
Here are Admiral Levine’s remarks after being sworn in:
Levine — who plans to regularly wear the blue uniform of the corps — delivered remarks after being sworn in.
“May this appointment today be the first of many more to come,” the new admiral said. “Diversity makes us stronger.” pic.twitter.com/JepXrOcFZH
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 19, 2021
Open thread!
bbleh
Oh my, that is gonna make an awful lot of wingnut heads explode …
geg6
She’s really great and I’m so happy for her. I was sad to lose her leadership here in PA mid-pandemic, but this is unequivocally a good thing for her and for the nation.
SiubhanDuinne
This is excellent news! Congratulations to Admiral Levine, and thanks to Adam for front-paging this important milestone.
Suzanne
@geg6: Agreed. I found her communications to be very helpful during the early freakout days. I wish good things for her.
HRA
Congratulations to Admiral Levine.
lowtechcyclist
Cool beans!
Adam L Silverman
@bbleh: According to the article, Senator Aqua Buddha is already most put out. As is Tom “I buy all my shirts one size two small” Fitton.
Adam L Silverman
Time to walk the doggos!
Miss Bianca
Wow!
zhena gogolia
Great news.
Dan B
I’ve known about eight trans women and men, probably more from when the medical care and support were not readily available so they were drag queens or kings. They were all great people, somewhat quirky but self aware. I believe it takes tremendous self and social awareness. Those are attributes this country can benefit from.
different-church-lady
This doesn’t say “open thread” until the fifth tag, and even then it really shouldn’t.
I’m going to give Adam a decent hour before I start abusing that mistake.
(DCL, +1 really long continuous one, over a camp fire…)
zhena gogolia
Wonderful statement.
We have all the good folks.
Dan B
@Adam L Silverman: Let me guess. Lindsey and Cotton? Otherwise known as men easily frightened by open LGBTQ+ people.
Brachiator
Very cool news.
Congratulations to Admiral Levine.
SiubhanDuinne
@different-church-lady:
Tags are (almost?) always listed in alphabetical order.
prostratedragon
Thought she’d go through without any hoohaw. Good!
Congratulations to her.
planetjanet
I read the Washington Post article earlier today, but it still is not clear to me what the distinction is between Assistant Secretary and 4-star Admiral. She had a swearing-in ceremony in March as the Assistant Secretary. Are there additional responsibilities that go with this new status?
scav
All the stars.
Cameron
@Dan B: IIRC, Aqua Buddha is Rand Paul.
different-church-lady
@SiubhanDuinne: Well then it ought to say, “z-open tag”.
(DCL, +1 really long one over a camp fire + 1 very specific one of my own invention…)
laura
Good for Her! And lucky for All of us.
bbleh
@Dan B: Cotton? Really? Had no idea.
Lindsey, duh. And word Back In The Day was McConnell. But Cotton, huh. That would kinda put a kink in his presidential plans.
pluky
@planetjanet: They are parallel designations. I have an uncle who was both an HHS undersecretary and a PHS Rear Admiral. The trick is, I think, that the PHS appointment requires appropriate academic credentials. Note the new Admiral is also an MD.
HumboldtBlue
Never a bad thing to hear some positive news.
The things you learn…
H.E.Wolf
Congratulations to Admiral Levine. May her work with the Corps be successful, and may she be an inspiration to many, trans and cis alike.
JoyceCB
Hello, non-American here. You have EIGHT uniformed services? Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard… and Public Health and NOAA? And what else? Please don’t say Space Force.
different-church-lady
@JoyceCB: Wait ’til you hear how many un-uniformed we have.
(DCL, +1 really long one over a campfire, + 1 of my own invention, +1 one where I just dumped alcohol into a glass over ice…)
Dan B
@Cameron: Thanks. Works. Aqua Tumbleweed or Tumbleweed Wreck might also do.
Steve in the ATL
@different-church-lady:
+1? Piker.
prostratedragon
@JoyceCB: Good grief, you must be right. I wasn’t able to get past your list either.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dan B: The Aqua Buddha thing has a history.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dan B: Aqua Buddha.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dan B: Aqua Buddha.
Omnes Omnibus
@Dan B:
I have tried three times to link to the Aqua Buddha story for you. Each time, it has disappeared into the ether.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2014/1/27/1272838/-Rand-Paul-and-Aqua-Buddha
Dan B
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh my!!
Now I understand why the hair looks fried. He had smoke going in his pie hole lighting the brain cell up to 500!
Benw
Fuck yes.
Ella in New Mexico
Jesus Fucking Awesome Christ this is so incredible.
I’m dumbfounded as to how something so incredbly progressive and wonderful like this can happen in the same country who’s “Supreme” Court allowed a state to literally outlaw abortion.
But I’m still rejoicing.
sdhays
@JoyceCB: For me, it will always be spelled “Space Farce”.
Adam L Silverman
@planetjanet: Yes. She’s the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. She’s now an admiral in the US Public Health Service.
Adam L Silverman
@scav: Actually, just four stars.
Adam L Silverman
@JoyceCB: Unfortunately Space Force is the 8th. It shouldn’t be. But from what I can tell no one in the Biden administration wants to waste the political capital, let alone other resources like time on putting it back under the Air Force where it belongs.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
I get the Aqua Buddha reference for Rand Paul, but not “I buy all my shirts one size too small” for Fitton. Enlightenment, please?
phein62
Many of the people who work at CDC are commissioned officers in the Public Health Service (which also includes [or included] the Indian Health Services, NIH, and the FDA), and they all have to wear the uniform one day a week, or at least they did back in the 1990’s when I was auditing their facilities. I felt like I was having flashbacks when my POCs would show up in these Navy-looking uniforms, and it turned out they were admirals of one rank or another. Talk about your dedicated people, though. They could all have made bank in the world, but stayed out of a sense of duty — or maybe for the cool uni’s.
SiubhanDuinne
@different-church-lady:
Say what now?
Adam L Silverman
Now that my workout is done and the dogs are walked. Time to make something to eat and then, once that has been inhaled, shower.
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: Fitton likes to show off the size of his upper arms. So he buys his polo and dress shirts one size too small. Frankly, as someone with upper arms that have an 18 plus inch circumference, a 54 inch chest circumference, a 64 inch circumference around my shoulders, and a 19 inch neck, this would be very uncomfortable. Even with polo shirts that are made from somewhat stretchy moisture wicking material. But I’m not trying to impress whomever Fitton is trying to impress when he tweets out videos of himself being indignant and asking for donations, so…
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: I think someone is into the adult beverages, the edibles, and/or both.
Adam L Silverman
Back after I eat.
Mike in NC
Trump’s hate war against transgender people, Muslims, and non-whites was his main feature to appeal to the deplorables.
zhena gogolia
@Adam L Silverman: Enjoying The Hobbit 15 minutes at a time at the end of my work day. At this rate it will take me roughly 6 years to finish it. It’s fun, though.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
?
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
I had no idea. And I think I was a happier person for it.
Another Scott
Good, good.
Given the holiday coming up, …
Good advice!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Narya
She was a keynote speaker (via recorded video) at our recent LGBTQ health symposium!
Bill Arnold
@JoyceCB:
Do you really object to the Space Force uniforms? The diagonal line of buttons is OK.
https://www.airforcemag.com/space-force-uniform-prototype-has-diagonal-buttons-pt-uniforms-are-black-and-gray/
The Space Force is also the 18th member of the USA Intelligence Community.
(TBH I silently howl with glee on seeing pictures. Reasons.)
L85NJGT
@JoyceCB:
The Surgeon General is a vice admiral.
Mike in NC
I used to regularly visit the uniform shop at the Navy Exchange at what was then Naval Hospital Bethesda (1990s) and marveled at the many overweight, long haired personnel in sloppy uniforms who were obviously in the Public Health Service.
Sister Golden Bear
Mabel tov Dr. Admiral Levine! (Or is it Admiral Dr. Levine? Or perhaps Dr. Mrs. The Admiral? /s )
And yes it will lots of wingnut heads explode even more. She’s had to handle an unbelievable amount of shit from them, going back to her days as a state official, and has she’s handled it with grace and professionalism.
Ken
Privatize it. Let Bezos, Musk, and whatever other billionaires are building their own nearly-orbital vehicles bid for it.
Leto
@Bill Arnold: so just from the pic, the male uniform model’s pants are out of reg. Great way to start. That’s not even mentioning that the PT uniforms are a direct copy of the AF ones (they’re shit; they don’t wick sweat, they’re abso-fucking-lutely balls hot in any type of warm weather, and they’re ill fitting), and that the dress uniform… well, they’re shit looking too. I’ll never consider them a service. I guess I’m in that Army camp now (“The AF should be back with the Army, get off my lawn!”)
Zoso
@bbleh: Ya think
@Adam L
Another Scott
Health related – ScienceMag:
The pace of understanding the molecular chemistry of our bodies is quite astounding these days.
Cheers,
Scott.
Adam L Silverman
@zhena gogolia: Like I said, the first movie was fine. The second movie was okay. The third movie, which was a studio requirement on Jackson, is the real stretch in regard to the actual book.
UncleEbeneezer
Wonderful! Especially in light of the fuckshit that placed like Texas are doing to target Trans people.
Adam L Silverman
@Another Scott:
By next week they’ll have a SuperPAC and a group of lobbyists doing a fundraiser for Manchin and Sinema to block something they don’t like from being in the reconciliation bill.
And I wish I could use sarc tags.
Adam L Silverman
@Zoso: Just so you know, when I got the moderation alert for your comment, I saw what was originally written in response to me. If it had still been there when I got back to my computer to approve it, I would have both moved it to the trash and put you on the blacklist. That shit doesn’t fly here. Remember that if you intend to stick around.
Cameron
@Ken: Perfect. Bezos, Musk and Erik Prince.
Another Scott
@Adam L Silverman: You recommended DemocracyDocket to us recently. The latest piece there is very good.
Eyes on the prizes.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.