Interview with Bree Fram

Monika: Today I have invited an inspirational woman. Lieutenant Colonel Bree Fram is the President of SPARTA, an organization that advocates and educates about transgender military service and is dedicated to the support and professional development of over 1200 transgender service members. She is currently the highest-ranking out transgender officer in the Department of Defense.

In addition, Bree is an active duty astronautical engineer in the US Air Force. Her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, Military Times, Inkstick, and LGBTQ Nation. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book With Honor and Integrity: Transgender Military Personnel in Their Own Words due out in November 2021. Hello Bree!

Bree: Hello Monika!

Monika: How are you doing in these crazy pandemic times?

Bree: We're getting by, though are concerned with the massive rise in cases of the delta variant. I'm hopeful that someday soon we can reach that magic of herd immunity with enough people getting their vaccines.

Interview with Kristin Beck

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Kristin Beck, aka Lady Valor, a retired United States Navy SEAL, recipient of multiple military awards, and author and recent actress as well as other endeavors that we shall hear about shortly. Hello Kristin!

Kristin: Hi Monika and Monika's fans. I am very happy to have some time with you and share some of my recent happenings here in Washington DC.

Monika: Your coming out generated a lot of interest from the media. Were you satisfied with the way the media covered your story?

Kristin: Overall the media has been very gracious concerning my story. The comments in social media however are quite another story. My lesson learned is “never read the commentary of a story.” Anderson Cooper was amazing and I am very happy with the entire media treatment from him and the entire production team at CNN.
A quick take on my story and the media is the following.

Interview with Monika Donner

Monika: Today it is my pleasure and honor to interview Monika Donner, a former officer of the Austrian Armed Forces, independent consultant, and lawyer in the Ministry of Defense of Austria, the author of "Tiger in High Heels". Hello Monika!

Monika D: Well, hello Monika!

Monika: Could you say a few words about yourself?

Monika D: I love to go my own way: my private way of love. In my childhood, I loved my big wild garden. When I entered kindergarten, I had to throw up because everything was strictly separated into girls and boys.

As I grew older, I learned to play both gender roles perfectly, until I decided to live as a woman – without letting doctors cut my genitalia. Therefore I had to fight against the old sexist/sadistic law by calling a high court. I won. Since then I am free because I defended my inner child.

Interview with Carla Lewis

Monika: Today I am meeting Carla Lewis, a transgender woman and activist, software engineer, mother of two, and US army veteran. She lives in east Tennessee with her lovely partner, Jaime. Hello Carla! It is a sheer pleasure to interview you. Welcome to The Heroines of My Life!

Carla: Truthfully, I’m honored that anyone would care to know about me.

Monika: Honest as usual! What are you doing these days?

Carla: The only recent significant change in my life was a closed head injury as a result of a rear-end collision in December of last 2011. I’m plagued with constant migraine-like head pain that makes it difficult to do some of the things I normally take for granted. That aside, I’m part owner of a small computer service company. That keeps me busy during business hours.

When I’m not at work, I enjoy the hell out of science fiction and fantasy movies, hero comics, and a newfound love of sewing and cosplay. The highlight of every year is now our annual trip to Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia where I get to dress up as my favorite superheroine, Power Girl, and Jaime gets to be whichever hero I feel like creating for her.