Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the end of one of the major barriers concerning military personnel, thus allowing transgender people to serve in the U.S. armed forces.
He stated that the proceeding would take place immediately, so there is no possibility of a transgender person being discharged because the ruling was passed. Training and guidance procedures are set to begin in October, but transgender military candidates are able to apply to be enlisted starting from July.
Health insurance will also cover the needs of transgender soldiers, such as paying for hormone treatments and gender surgery if it is considered necessary by their consulted physician.
An army based on values rather than stereotypes
According to Secretary Carter, transgender military personnel are as talented and capable as any other servicemen, able to serve their country “with honor and distinction.” The following 12 months will see the development of the ruling as officers and troops will be guided through the process as there is an expectation of some internal resistance.
Most of the Republican advocates for gender differentiation, especially in the army, have chosen to focus on other issues since there is nothing they could do to stop Secretary Carter’s ruling. He argued that this decision has been carefully studied and it seems that he is ready to commit to it, as he made the announcement without being accompanied by military officers.
"We're ending the ban on transgender Americans in the United States military," #SecDef Ash Carter announced todayhttps://t.co/3NxmzUkvB6
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) June 30, 2016
Most of the Republican advocates for gender differentiation, especially in the army, have chosen to focus on other issues since there is nothing they could do to stop Secretary Carter’s ruling. He argued that this decision has been carefully studied and it seems that he is ready to commit to it, as he made the announcement without being accompanied by military officers.
It is estimated that there are around 2,500 transgender service people out of the 1.3 million enlisted personnel. But according to The Palm Center think tank at the University of California, the number of transgender troops reached 15,500 over the past few years, but it dropped by nearly 3,000
“Our mission is to defend this country, and we don’t want barriers unrelated to a person’s qualification to serve, preventing us from recruiting or retaining the soldier, sailor, airman or Marine who can best accomplish the mission,” Carter stated.
More changes in the army
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says the Pentagon is dropping the ban on transgender troops https://t.co/uoyMDUrKJy https://t.co/br5rlJfgFv
— CNN (@CNN) June 30, 2016
It’s been 5 years since the latest drastic change in the military concerning personnel’s sexual identity, and just one year since the ruling that allowed women to serve in ground combat units. Although transgender and gay people are now allowed in the military, the new guidelines establish that the candidate must be “stable” within its genre for at least 18 months.
The candidate should present a certificate issued by a doctor in order to enlist. Apparently, to join the Army and the Marine Corps, transgender people must wait 24 months. In contrast, the Air Force and the Navy require 12 months of gender stability.
A commander’s guidebook will be issued so regiments are able to correctly lead transgender personnel and see that they are provided with adequate medical and instructive care. Reportedly, there will also be the possibility of personnel being able to change their gender while they are in service.
An interesting bit is that, according to the Washington Post, Palm Center led a study to see whether the U.S. military was able to drop the ban on transgender troops without too much trouble.
“From a military officer perspective, we consider honor and integrity to be just essential values. But how can we say that when we’re asking these men and women to lie about who they are? That’s very comparable to the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ piece. To me, it’s just wrong,” Army Major General Gale S. Pollock collaborated in the study and stated.
Source: CNN