http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/24/ban-transgender-troops-lifted-july-1/86347902/

Ban on transgender troops to be lifted July 1
According to officials, 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. USA TODAY

Defense Secretary Ash Carter(Photo: Romeo Ranoco, Reuters Pool/AP)

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.

Among the questions Thornberry asked:

“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.

Thornberry was not happy with the timing of the announcement, he said in a statement Friday.

“If reports are correct, I believe Secretary Carter has put the political agenda of a departing administration ahead of the military’s readiness crisis," Thornberry said. "The force is exhausted from back to back deployments and spending their home-station time scrambling to get enough equipment and training before they deploy again. My focus is on helping the troops now — to be the most effective, deployable force possible.

"Consistent with that philosophy, when we learned DOD was looking at new policies on the service of transgender individuals, the Committee posed a number of questions to DOD," he said. "In particular, there are readiness challenges that first must be addressed, such as the extent to which such individuals would be medically non-deployable. Almost a year has passed with no answer to our questions from Secretary Carter. Our top priority must be warfighting effectiveness and individual readiness is an essential part of that.”

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.

"This is my rifle, this is my gun" will have a whole new meaning....

Great, let's put the "feelings" of a miniscule part of the population above our national defense.

Chesty Puller is rolling over in his grave.

Sssshhh...... You hear that?

That is the mighty armies laughing at our our Rainbow & Unicorn armed forces.

Okay...
So, michele obama, can now enlist.

Oh man, there goes the section 8 option. What the hell are deserters gonna do now????

what will Corporal(Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger do now?

What is it exactly that makes a transgender person unable to serve in the forces (other thank the ick-factor some people feel)?

Actually a few countries already allow that. Israel has for years allowed gay and transgender to serve openly and they are one of the toughest and most bada$$ militaries in the world.

Personally I think that if they want to serve and they can meet the requirements then they should be given the chance.

However, ever they are ever caught as a POW in the Middle East they are in big trouble.

wheres my goat?

My rant of the day, and I guarantee all of my Republican friends are going to blow me up for this.

We need to get over this gay and transgender in the military issue and issue in general. If they want to serve and can pass all of the training required, why shouldn't they be able to serve?

In Israel, the IDF has accepted gay, lesbian and transgender for years and they are regarded as one of the most bad *** militaries in the world.

We as a party need to get past this social issue. Most gay and lesbian Americans are conservative but vote Democrat because of how the Republican Party treats them. Does it really affect your life so much if you see two men together or two women together? If it does then your the one with issues.

If two people want to be happy together then so be it. Be happy for them, life's to short to be negative. Don't give me the bible excuse, because if that is really the case they will be supposedly be going to hell not you, so get over it.

I end this with part of a famous document written on July 4th 1776. Maybe you have heard of it?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence as written by
Thomas Jefferson.

No WE dont need to get over it.....and we DONT need to turn our armed forces into a social justice experiment....which is all this is....period.

Idgaf what Israel does.



No....but it CAN affect my life if my nations military is more worried, because of a certain politicians 'promises', on being focused on catering to .03% of the population than carrying out its mission.


That "men" part is laughable in context with this thread.....REALLY? We're talking about people with a dlck who say they're women.



Interesting choice of words.

We have my Marines pulling Hornet parts out of the boneyard and this admin is worried about stupid $hit.
If it ain't broke, STOP trying to fix it....especially just to get a damn vote.

And an FYI, I'm an Independent.... And a former Marine and two National Guards enlistments after that....with one brother who served in the Army and another in the USMC....with a father who fought in WWII and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. They ALL laugh at this bs....my father laughing from the grave.
Anyone who caves on this issue just to get a few votes is no better than the current administration....in other words, a whore for their party, and is NOT for what's in the best interest of our military.

Honestly if they can pass the test and do the job what does it matter what they do in their bedrooms or how they dress or what sex they are sleeping with???

Unit cohesion, lowered standards just to get some in. We're not talking about integrating Sam's Coffee Shop or whatever....we're talking about readiness of our military....AGAIN, not some social experiment.
I realize some enjoy the shower scene from Starship Troopers....but this ain't a movie.

And this whole "if they can pass" crap....it would only be a miniscule few.....SO WHY ARE WE SCREWING AROUND WITH IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

"If two people want to be happy together then so be it. Be happy for them, life's to short to be negative. Don't give me the bible excuse, because if that is really the case they will be supposedly be going to hell not you, so get over it."
.
I am going to ignore your rant except for this. ^^^° No where in the Bible does it say, homosexuals are going to hell.
It is mentioned as a sin as well as 830+ other sins, including gluttony.

Why mention the Bible? What does that or (any) religion have to do with the thread? No one mentioned a religious objection.

ALL 5 major religions are against homosexuality. It is not a secret.
But only ONE, will KILL someone for it. And only ONE sanctions it. By text & deed.
And it isn't Jews, Christians, Buddhist of Hindi.

Personally I think that this should have been taken out of the hands of Washington bureaucrats, politicians and the military hierarchy.

IMO it should have been left up to the people this will affect daily on the battle field, in barracks, on ships and even bathrooms....the current military members. If it was done through a referendum vote the matter could be done in a democratic way, something the military is supposed to defend. And using a poll wouldn't work, if polls were an accurate reflection of what people really want then the Brexit vote would have overwhelmingly been to stay, not leave.

I'm pretty sure they can kill and die like all the rest of us

Why not let the U.S. military integrate both genders the way the latter are in the movie Starship Troopers?

Humm so your saying just cause someone is a Transgender they can not be a marksman when it comes to shooting a gun??

That due to them being a transgender they could not fight as well as anyone else can??

Sorry but that sounds a bit one sided...

But then I'm sure the same that want to keep the transgenders from standing up and protecting this country like anyone else, also don't like women in the Military either`~~

That's ok LPdon, we know your a playa for DC.

Well I guess unlike the UK that has had a couple of hundred years to get used to it. We're still a little, you know... not good with a soldier that goes drag when he's on leave. Worse a buddy shows you a pic of his new girl friend and it's a goon in your squad.. ick factor???? Yes.