President Donald Trump on Friday signed a
memo effectively barring transgender people
from joining the US military, but left the fate
of those already serving up to the Pentagon.
In a widely anticipated move, Trump directed
the military “to return to the longstanding
policy and practice on military service by
transgender individuals prior to June 2016” —
to go into effect from March 23, 2018.
That means an effective ban on new openly
transgender personnel and on payment for
treatment for those already in the armed
forces, aides said.
The memorandum calls on Defense Secretary
Jim Mattis and homeland security chiefs to
submit an implementation plan by mid-
February, and granted Mattis broad discretion
what to do about currently serving
transgender personnel.
Trump did leave open the possibility that
Mattis, in conjunction with the homeland
security chief, could advise “at any time, in
writing, that a change to this policy is
warranted.”
Last month, Trump deployed a series of tweets
that called into question an Obama-era policy
of allowing transgender troops to serve
openly.
The tweets came with little apparent
coordination with the Pentagon, resulting in
speculation about the fate of between 1,320
and 15,000 transgender personnel already
serving.
Several senior military officials had voiced
unease over the policy shift, with the head of
the Coast Guard, Admiral Paul Zukunft, saying
he would not “break faith” with transgender
personnel.
Zukunft said there were 13 Coast Guard
members who have come out as transgender,
noting “all of them are doing meaningful
Coast Guard work today.”
A day after the president’s initial
announcement, General Joe Dunford, the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent a
short memo to senior officers and enlisted
leaders that the current policy should remain
in effect until Trump gives formal direction to
the Pentagon and Mattis issues new guidance.
“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all
of our personnel with respect,” Dunford wrote.
Cruel
Trump drew criticism from a number of
lawmakers for releasing the memo as the US
Gulf Coast braced for a dangerous hurricane.
Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck
Schumer accused Trump of “using the cover of
the storm” to “ban courageous transgender
men and women from serving our nation’s
Armed Forces.”
“So sad, so weak,” Schumer added,
appropriating some of Trump’s favorite
adjectives.
Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi echoed that sentiment, called Trump’s
decision “cruel.”
“The Commander-in-Chief is ordering the
Pentagon to hurt and humiliate thousands of
Americans who serve in our military with
strength and courage,” Pelosi said.
“Prejudice, not the national defense, is behind
President Trump’s cruel decision to kick
transgender troops out of the military.”
Five transgender women in the US military are
suing Trump and the Pentagon over the
tweets, saying they faced uncertainty about
their futures, including whether they would be
fired or lose post-military and retirement
benefits.
Trump has said he did the Pentagon a “great
favor” by banning transgender troops, saying
the issue had been “complicated” and
“confusing” for the military.
In the directive, he suggested Obama had not
thought through whether the policy would
“hinder military effectiveness and lethality, (or)
disrupt unit cohesion.”
Source: vanguardngr
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