Draft:LeAnne Stuart Withrow

LeAnne Withrow is an American author of young adult fantasy novels, and a former soldier in the Illinois Army National Guard (ILNG). She is the first openly transgender service-member in the ILNG, and the first to officially serve in her preferred gender. She has used her position, as well as her writing and experience in public affairs to advocate for numerous causes, including suicide prevention and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Transition and post-transition service
In light of the 2016 lift of the Department of Defense ban on service of Transgender individuals, Withrow was among the first to begin the process to openly serve. She was the first ever transgender woman to openly serve in the Illinois National Guard openly and in her correct gender, and the first to officially change her DEERs gender marker through the official Department of Defense process. She was officially grandfathered in under the 2016 Carter-Obama Policy on April 6th, 2019, and was officially recognized as a female on Army records with an effective date of November 29, 2019.

Military career
Withrow enlisted in Springfield, Illinois, into the Illinois Army National Guard in March, 2010, as a 92G (Culinary Specialist) and attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, before going to the Joint Culinary Center of Excellence at Fort Lee, VA. While serving as a 92G with the 232nd Combat Support and Sustainment Battalion she participated in numerous major events, including the NATO 2012 Chicago Summit in 2012, in Chicago, IL, and Operation Ulchi Freedom Guardian 13 in South Korea in 2013.

After serving with the 232nd for nearly three years, she transferred to the 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment as a result of her work at the NATO Summit. She attended the Defense Information School in Fort Meade, MD, in late 2013, graduating in 2014 after sustaining a serious knee injury during training that would take more than a year to recover from.

She subsequently provided Public Affairs coverage for the National Guard Association of the United States Conference Conference in Chicago in 2014 and various other missions prior to being deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2015 to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. During her deployment she served as a primary media engagement liaison for Joint Task Force Honor, as well as being a staff editor and photojournalist for The Wire, a weekly magazine created by the Task Force. She was also, notably, promoted to sergeant in a unique underwater ceremony. Upon returning from Guantanamo, she was awarded the Abraham Lincoln Military Medal of Freedom and an Army Achievement Medal.

Returning from OEF in mid-2016, she began working in the State Family Programs Office of the Illinois National Guard. She was placed into a team leader position, and began developing training for her unit as a subject-matter expert in media engagement and public speaking. In 2017, she took on the role of training noncommissioned officer for the 139th.

She took part in Ready Response, a large-scale flood fighting operation in Illinois during the spring and summer of 2019, where she served as one of the primary media engagement and public affairs non-commissioned officers under IEMA. She worked to develop social media messaging, as well as to provide photojournalism coverage of the ILNG and other state agencies involved in the operation.

Later in 2019, Withrow was activated as part of a two-person Public Affairs team to provide coverage for Exercise Eager Lion 19 in Amman, Jordan. Eager Lion, which is a multination exercise involving more than 30 partner nations, is the largest middle-eastern training exercise that is conducted by ARCENT. For her work in Jordan, she was award two separate Army Achievement Medals, her second and third.

In early 2020, she was again activated, this time with most of the 139th MPAD, to take part in Arctic Eagle 20, another large-scale multi-component, multinational joint training exercise that takes place annually in Alaska. She served as a squad leader during AE20, providing coverage around the state for Army, Air, and Navy assets used during the operation. Her work was featured on various national and state websites, and has been distributed globally through various news sources.

After AE20, she attended the Advanced Leadership Course in Ft. Meade, MD., and was promoted to staff sergeant. She moved from the State Family Programs Office to the State Equal Opportunity Office, and took over as the ILNG's first full time Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist.

Withrow was again activated in the winter of 2022 as part of Arctic Eagle Patriot (AE)22, where she led a team of six mass communications soldiers from the ILNG.

Withrow was officially medically retired form the ILNG on May 2nd, 2023, and was presented with the Meritorious Service Medal to honor her longstanding commitment to excellence.

Writing career
Withrow's writing career began at an early age. She wrote a collection of poems entitled "Everyday Monsters" to a limited release in the early 2000's, and then took a break from writing anything commercial until high school.

In 2008, while studying overseas in Niedersachsen, Germany, she wrote her first stage play - Dance Me To The Moon - an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. She returned in the winter of 2008, and began pushing to direct her play as part of Springfield Southeast High School's Independent Student Theater program. She successfully negotiated the right to direct her production and she both played a supporting role in and directed the play in May of 2009. Her work was met with enthusiasm, and brought credit to the school and validation to the author.

Withrow again took a break from major creative writing projects until her deployment in 2015-2016, during which time she began working on her first full-length novel.

During her deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2015-2016 she wrote her first full length novel, The Tragedy of Power. The novel is a dark dystopian coming-of-age tale that features paranormal romance, lgbt elements, and a strong female lead. The basic plot of the novel involves a supernatural child born with the ability to heal anyone she touches, and how the world reacts to her. The novel features unusually dark content, including self-harm and substance abuse.

The Tragedy of Power was followed by a sequel, Apathetic God in 2018. Withrow's second novel continues to follow the supernatural story of Lauren Courvidae, but also introduces another super-powered character, the mysterious Weyland. Apathetic God has been seen by some as a commentary on the powerful and social elite of the world.

Withrow has since published Emperor's Shadow, a high-fantasy novel, as well as contributed to a horror anthology, Sinister.

Activism
Withrow has also taken an active role in promoting the causes of LGTB Rights and Suicide Prevention. Specifically she has donated a portion of her earnings as an author to suicide prevention since 2016. Additionally, she is a member of SPART*A Pride, a Transgender Advocacy Group for servicemembers in the United States Military, and has taken part in both research projects and in a video series for the organization that the group has put out to contribute to Transgender Servicemember awareness and issues in the military.