The Pentagon has lifted its long-standing ban on transgender troops serving openly in the USA military Thursday, finally knocking one of the last hurdles to service based on sex.
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At a news briefing, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said that the armed services “don’t want barriers unrelated to a person’s qualifications to serve”.
We have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines – real, patriotic Americans – who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of service and individual merit.
The new transgender policy will be phased in over a one-year period, but effective immediately, and means the military can no longer discharge or deny reenlistment to troops based exclusively on their gender identity. Effective immediately, transgender service members no longer face the risk of being discharged for their gender identity.
The Pentagon will compile and distribute the handbooks, medical protocol and guidance to the commanders for training by October 1.
The policy change also highlights a curious inconsistency in the United State’s own legislation: Why did the ban on transgender people in the military remain after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed?
Defence Secretary Ashton B.Carter in a landmark decision lifted its ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the USA military.
Carter said that the military’s personnel system will be changed so that service members can update their gender if they transition.
The ground work to lift the prohibition began a year ago when Carter said he would study the “readiness implications of welcoming transgender persons to serve openly”. The Pentagon plans to unveil the new regulations in the next day or two. He said he discussed the plans extensively with his military leaders, and based on their recommendations, he made adjustments to the timeline.
According to a RAND study, about 2500 of these active-duty service members are transgender, as well as about 1500 out of approximately 825,000 reserve troops. “We are incredibly grateful to Secretary Carter for bringing this promise to fruition”.
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The Pentagon doesn’t now know how many transgender troops are in the military because they are discharged if they reveal they are transgender. “We want to take the opportunity to retain people whose talent we’ve invested in and who’ve proven themselves”. He questioned whether the change would affect military readiness and said the committee will push for answers.
