[Vision2020] Ban on transgender troops to be lifted July 1

[Debi Smith]

About time!

Debi R-S


On 6/24/2016 4:22 PM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> Courtesy of the /Military Times /at:
>
> http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/pentagon/2016/06/24/ban-transgender-troops-lifted-july-1/86351716/
>
> --------------------------------
> Ban on transgender troops to be lifted July 1
>
> WASHINGTON — The Pentagon plans to announce the repeal of its ban on 
> transgender service members July 1, a controversial decision that 
> would end nearly a year of internal wrangling among the services on 
> how to allow those troops to serve openly, according to Defense officials.
>
> Top personnel officials plan to meet as early as Monday to finalize 
> details of the plan, and Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work could sign 
> off on it by Wednesday, according to a Defense official familiar with 
> the timetable but who spoke on condition of anonymity because 
> officials were not authorized to speak publicly about it. Final 
> approval would come from Defense Secretary Ash Carter, and the 
> announcement will be on the eve of the Fourth of July weekend.
>
> The plan would direct each branch of the armed services over a 
> one-year period to implement new policies affecting recruiting, 
> housing and uniforms for transgender troops, one official said.
>
> Carter announced last year that the ban, which affects a fraction of 
> the military’s 1.3 million active duty members, would be lifted unless 
> a review showed that doing so would have “adverse impact on military 
> effectiveness and readiness.”
>
> That phrase raised concerns on Capitol Hill where a key lawmaker 
> questioned whether an “honest and balanced assessment” could be made 
> of the effects on “military readiness, morale and good order and 
> discipline” under Carter’s guidelines for the review.
>
> Rep. Mac Thornberry, the Texas Republican who chairs the Armed 
> Services Committee, called on the Pentagon in a letter last July to 
> provide a range of information on the impacts of repealing the ban.
>
> “What would be the projected cost of changing the transgender service 
> policy? To what extent would military barracks, ship berths, gym 
> shower facilities, latrines, and other facilities have to be modified 
> to accommodate personnel in various stages of transition and what 
> would be the projected cost of these modifications?” Thornberry wrote.
>
> He also asked about how far the Pentagon would go to provide medical 
> treatment for transgender troops, “including behavioral health 
> treatment, cross-hormone therapy, voice therapy, cosmetic or gender 
> reassignment surgery and other treatments?”
>
> Pentagon officials responded to Thornberry in September, said Eric 
> Pahon, a department spokesman. The main focus of the Pentagon’s review 
> of the policy has been on the effect of repeal on the military’s 
> readiness to fight, Pahon said. More details about the review’s 
> findings are expected to be released soon, he said.
>
> Several issues relating to repeal of the ban have proven to be 
> contentious, according to officials familiar with the review but not 
> authorized to speak publicly about it. One sticking point has been how 
> long transgender service members would have to serve before 
> being eligible for medical treatment to transition to the other gender.
>
> The Pentagon commissioned a RAND Corp. report on transgender troops 
> but has not released it. It estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 
> transgender service members, 65 of whom would seek medical treatment 
> each year, according to/The New York Times/.
>
> The military disqualifies transgender troops for medical reasons. The 
> Pentagon has not tracked the number of troops dismissed under the policy.
>
> --------------------------------
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares"
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
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