A person’s qualifications should be the only thing that matters when it comes to serving in the United States military. So said Defense Secretary Ash Carter today when he announced that transgender individuals may serve openly in any branch of the country’s armed forces.
According to a June 30 New York Times report:
The decision pushes forward a transformation of the military that Mr. Carter has accelerated in the last year with the opening of all combat roles to women and the appointment of the first openly gay Army secretary. He made his feelings on ending the transgender ban clear last year, when he called it outdated and ordered officials across the military to begin examining what would need to be done to lift the prohibition.
When Mr. Carter ordered that assessment, there were already thousands of transgender people in the military. But until Thursday, most have been forced into an existence shrouded in secrets to avoid being discharged, a situation much like that faced by gay men, lesbians and bisexuals before the lifting of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 2011.
Several studies have reached the opposite conclusion, however, finding that lifting the ban is unlikely to have any appreciable effect on the readiness of the armed forces.
Lifting of the ban will be phased in over about a year, with a goal of October 1 for transgender troops to receive gender affirmative medical care and identification throughout the Pentagon’s personnel system.
