Pentagon lifts transgender ban

Enlistment, service to be allowed with some stipulations

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Thursday that transgender people will be allowed to serve openly in the military. “Americans who want to serve and can meet our standards should be afforded the opportunity to compete to do so,” Carter said in Washington.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Thursday that transgender people will be allowed to serve openly in the military. “Americans who want to serve and can meet our standards should be afforded the opportunity to compete to do so,” Carter said in Washington.

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced Thursday that transgender people will be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, ending one of the last bans on service in the armed forces.

"Americans who want to serve and can meet our standards should be afforded the opportunity to compete to do so," said Carter, laying out a one-year plan to implement the change. "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."

Under the new policy, by Oct. 1, transgender troops already serving should be able to receive medical care and begin formally changing their gender identifications in the Pentagon's personnel system. And, a year from now, the military services will begin allowing transgender individuals to enlist, as long as they meet required standards and have been stable in their identified genders for 18 months.

Carter's announcement came despite concerns from senior military leaders that the department is moving too fast and that more time is needed to work through the changes.

According to defense officials, the military leaders, including Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, and Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, said that while they aren't opposed to lifting the ban, they thought the new rules didn't include enough specifics to guide commanders who will have to make decisions about people in their units.

Carter said he discussed the plans extensively with his military leaders and that, based on their recommendations, he made adjustments to the timeline. He said he has been told that the services now support the timeline.

According to Carter, a study by the RAND think tank found that there are between 2,500 and 7,000 transgender service members in the active-duty military, and another 1,500 to 4,000 in the reserves.

"Although relatively few in number, we're talking about talented and trained Americans who are serving their country with honor and distinction," Carter said.

Under the new policy, transgender troops would receive any medically care necessary, including surgery, Carter said.

Providing medical care to those seeking to change genders would cost $2.9 million to $4.2 million a year for the Pentagon, which spends about $6 billion of its $610 billion annual budget on medical costs for active-duty service members, according to the report, which was completed in March.

The new rules give military commanders broad flexibility, noting that not all transition cases are the same. Commanders will have the discretion to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, including on job placement, deployments, training delays and other accommodations, based on the needs of the military mission and whether the service members can perform their duties.

For people coming into the military, the plan says that those with gender dysphoria, a history of medical treatments associated with gender transition and those who have had reconstruction surgery may be disqualified as military recruits unless a medical provider certifies that they have been clinically stable in the preferred gender for 18 months and are free of significant impairment.

Additionally, transgender troops receiving hormone therapy must have been stable on their medications for 18 months.

The policy provides guidelines for transgender service members currently in the military. They will be able to use the bathrooms, housing, uniforms and fitness standards of their preferred gender only after they have legally transitioned to that identity.

Over the next year, the military services will develop and distribute training guidelines, medical protocols and other guidance to help commanders deal with any issues or questions about transgender troops.

The military policy differs from civilian gender transitions, where transgender individuals often dress, live socially and work full-time in their preferred gender during the process. Under the new policy, service members would only be able to do that when off-duty and away from their duty station.

Last July, Carter said he intended to rescind the ban, calling it outdated. He has long argued that the military must be more inclusive to recruit the best and brightest.

At the time, he ordered a six-month study to include extensive medical and scientific research and discussions with other nations and companies with experience in the process. He extended the study because the military wanted more time. Officials said he wanted to ensure there was no impact on military readiness, but over time, he became frustrated with the slow progress.

The military's top leaders, including Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were on board with ending the prohibition, Carter said, although none of the military's top brass appeared with him for the announcement.

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the House Armed Services Committee chairman, called the announcement another example of the administration "prioritizing politics over policy." He questioned whether the change would affect military readiness and said the committee will push for answers.

Others praised the move as historic. Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, a research institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the decision enhances "readiness as well as core values of honesty and integrity, an enormous accomplishment with a durable impact on all service members."

"We all knew the change was coming ever since he acknowledged our service," said Staff Sgt. Patricia King, a transgender member of the Army infantry who recently was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. Her new unit was prepared for her when she arrived and has treated her warmly, she said.

"All they saw was a soldier and woman ready to do her job," King said.

The decision marks the latest way in which the military has blazed new trails in the last few years on issues that have divided the country. In 2011, the Obama administration repealed the "don't ask, don't tell," policy that prohibited gay service members from serving openly. More recently, Carter lifted a ban on women serving in units in ground combat assignments last year.

Information for this article was contributed by Lolita C. Baldor of The Associated Press; by Dan Lamothe of The Washington Post; and by Matthew Rosenberg of The New York Times.

A Section on 07/01/2016

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