Yahoo – AFP, Thomas Watkins, June 30, 2016
Washington (AFP) - Transgender personnel will no longer be barred from serving openly in the US military, the Pentagon announced Thursday -- a major milestone that immediately drew fire from Republican lawmakers.
US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announces the military will lift its ban on transgender troops, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC on June 30, 2016 (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb) |
Washington (AFP) - Transgender personnel will no longer be barred from serving openly in the US military, the Pentagon announced Thursday -- a major milestone that immediately drew fire from Republican lawmakers.
Lifting the
ban on transgender service members is "the right thing to do, and it's
another step in ensuring that we continue to recruit and retain the most
qualified people," Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters.
"Good
people are the key to the best military in the world."
The move is
the latest in a series of Pentagon personnel reforms under Carter, who has
repeatedly stressed the need for the military to modernize to draw from as deep
a talent pool as possible.
He last
year ordered all military roles -- including combat positions -- to be opened
to women, and has overseen benefits changes to make the military more family
friendly.
As recently
as five years ago, the US military still banned gay troops from openly
discussing their sexuality under a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Today, the
Army has an openly gay man, Eric Fanning, working as the service's highest
civilian leader.
The new
transgender policy will be phased in during a one-year period, but the military
can no longer discharge or deny reenlistment to troops based solely on their
gender identity, effective immediately.
By July 1
next year, the services will begin allowing transgender personnel to sign up,
assuming they have met the necessary physical and mental standards to do so,
the Pentagon said.
Under the
new policy, the Pentagon will cover medical expenses related to being
transgender, including gender reassignment surgeries when these are deemed
"medically necessary."
Pentagon
expected to repeal ban on transgender members
|
Republican scorn
Republican
Congressman Mac Thornberry, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, said
the move could lead to troops not being ready to deploy for medical reasons.
"This
is the latest example of the Pentagon and the president prioritizing politics
over policy," Thornberry said.
"Our
military readiness -- and hence, our national security -- is dependent on our
troops being medically ready and deployable."
Republican
Senator Jim Inhofe, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the
move was a distraction.
"Our
military is facing historic readiness shortfalls, putting our service members'
lives at greater risk. Addressing this crisis should be the sole focus of the
Obama administration, but instead they continue to be more interested in
forcing their social agenda," Inhofe said.
The US
military has about 1.3 million service members. According to a RAND study,
about 2,500 of these active-duty service members are transgender, as well as
about 1,500 out of approximately 825,000 reserve troops.
The new
policy allows transgender troops "to continue to serve without living a
lie, and provides much-needed clarity to commanders who for years have been
stuck in the middle of a confusing policy," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin
said.
The
military will start paying for transgender-related medical treatment no later
than October 1. Officials said the overall costs are negligible.
At least 18
countries already allow transgender personnel to serve openly in their
militaries, Carter said, including Britain, Israel and Australia.
Related Articles:
"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)
“… Gender Switching
Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."
It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”
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