This session weaves together personal stories, the history of fighting for open transgender service in the military, and the lessons learned about the value of inclusion to mission success. The presentation also covers resiliency in the face of adversity; including what it's like to be fired via Tweet by the President of the United States. Additional topics include breaking negative stereotypes of transgender people, how to create an inclusive leadership culture, the value of diverse representation, and how even the military can utilize vulnerability as a leadership trait. The presentation concludes with a call to action around what can be done to ensure a future military with out transgender people is just as unconscionable as it would be without every other minority group.