The Department of Defense might be en route to reforming its policies regarding transgender people in the military.
In a statement Monday, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter called the department’s regulations “outdated” and “confusing.” He announced two directives that will hopefully lead to transgender people being able to serve in the Army openly. It seemed like the right next step following the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell era.
“At a time when our troops have learned from experience that the most important qualifications for service members should be whether they’re able and willing to do their job, our officers and enlisted personnel are faced with certain rules that tell them the opposite,” Carter said. “Moreover, we have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines—real patriotic Americans—who I know being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that’s contrary to our value of service and individual merit.”
These days, transgender people are deemed “medically unfit for duty,” and the ones who can serve, face being separated from the gender group they identify with.
Carter said a team will study for six months the impact of lifting prohibitions against the transgender community, and go from there.
From his statement:
At my direction, the working group will start with the presumption that transgender persons can serve openly without adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness, unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified. Second, I am directing that decision authority in all administrative discharges for those diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who identify themselves as transgender be elevated to Under Secretary Carson, who will make determinations on all potential separations.
As I’ve said before, we must ensure that everyone who’s able and willing to serve has the full and equal opportunity to do so, and we must treat all our people with the dignity and respect they deserve. Going forward, the Department of Defense must and will continue to improve how we do both. Our military’s future strength depends on it.
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2015.
I hope as part of this study they come across reports of how easily transgenders ahve integrated into the police and fire service not to mention all other aspects of gov’t service. These reports would make the study a lot more easy to recommend implementation.
Just keep them away from our kids.
Is this for real? WHY would someone who is transgender even want to join the military?
There is just no way this is going to work. They will not be deployable. How do we house them? Will they get special treatment, their own bathrooms – or while in the desert – their own porta potty?
This just makes no sense. At some point people need to make a choice. You can be transgender OR serve in the military.
At some point you have to stand up and say enough. I am not a Republican, I am not a homophobe, I am not religious – but come one, who thinks this is a good idea and will be worth the effort?????
@Delva
Get over yourself. There’s as much correlation between transgenderism and paedophilia as there is between homosexuality and paedophilia: none, zero, zip. Most paedophiles are middle aged straight men, by both total numbers and by percentage of the population. I believe my kids are statistically safer with a TG’d person than with an arbitrary member of the general populace. Dealing with a lifetime of prejudices and misgender seems to have a tendency to increase people’s sensitivity for some reason…
If I misunderstand and you are instead suggesting kids might be somehow negatively influenced or corrupted just by exposure to transgendered people, then I’m not even sure what to say. The whole point for transgendered people is to live as the opposite gender, that’s it. They goal is to “blend”. So you’re essentially saying kids would be corrupted by exposure to people who look & act like….women….or…..men….the horror!