A month after he announced a ban on transgender people serving in the military via Twitter, Donald Trump has issued a memo on how the decision is to be implemented.
The two-and-a-half-page note says Defense Secretary Jim Mattis must consider a service member’s ‘deployability’ when deciding whether to eject them from the military.
That means that if they are unable to serve in a war zone, take part in training or serve on a ship for months, they must go – and claims that being transgender is a barrier to all of these, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Plan in action: Donald Trump’s ban on transgender military members – which he announced in July – has now gone into action after the White House revealed how it was to be implemented
Kicking out: Defense Sec. Jim Mattis (right) must remove anyone who is ‘non-deployable’ – which includes transgender service members, according to the new guidelines
Plans: Until now the Pentagon had no rules by which to manage or justify the removal of any transgender service members, who were told they could come out in 2016 by Barack Obama
The policy, which gives the Pentagon six months to oust transgender service members and places a ban on new transgender hires, has met resistance from transgender representatives.
‘Transgender people are just as deployable as other service members,’ said Sue Fulton, the former president of Sparta, a military organization for LGBT people that advocates for open service.
‘Other service members may undergo procedures when they are at home base, just as other service members schedule shoulder surgery or gall bladder surgery,’ added Fulton, who achieved the rank of captain in the army, and is not transgender.
She said that there are no ‘ongoing treatments’ that would render transgender soldiers, sailors and pilots non-deployable.
‘Thus there’s no difference between the deployability of transgender service members’ and that of others, she said.
A Rand Corp study commissioned last year estimated that there were between 1,320 and 6,000 transgender people openly serving in the military.
Advocacy groups put the figure for those on active duty at 7,000 and total figures across all areas of the military at 11,000.
The Rand Corp survey noted that not all of them seek treatment – and those that do have treatment that would render them non-deployable are few in number.
Using surveys and private health insurance data, the study concluded that only 29 to 129 members in the military’s active component would be rendered non-deployable by their planned treatment.
Opposed: Almost 60% of Americans are against the ban. Ex-Army captain Sue Fulton (right) said nothing about trangender people or their ongoing treatment makes them non-deployable
Standing up: Fulton, who campaigns for LGBT army rights but is not trans, says even if surgery is to be performed, it’s just like having a gall bladder operation on a military base
The new memo is the first attempt by the government to provide guidance to the Pentagon on how to follow through on the rule Trump announced on July 26.
He tweeted: ‘After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military.
‘Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.’
The Rand Corp’s survey concluded that it would cost between $2.4 million and $8.4 million a year to treat transgender service members – that’s 0.04-0.13 per cent of 2014’s $6.27 billion military budget.
It’s also just 2.86-10 per cent of the $84 million spent by the US military on Viagra and similar sexual health supplements per year, according to Military Times.
Trump’s announcement – which was opposed by 58 per cent of the country according to a July 28 Reuters/Ipsos poll – came after pressure from conservatives.
They were concerned by the July 1, 2017 opening date for transgender recruitment.
That was set by Barack Obama in 2016; at the same time, he immediately allowed transgender people already in the military to begin serving openly.
That has left some in the military’s upper echelons concerned about how to justify implementing the ban – particularly as there are long-serving servicemen and women who announced they were transgender after Obama’s order came through.
New rules: Barack Obama (pictured with transgender Staff Sgt Logan Ireland, right) lifted the DADT rules in 2016. A survey suggested just 29-129 of up to 6,000 transgender members would be rendered non-deployable by transitioning
Angry: Trump’s decision angered protesters, and came after conservatives pressured him. They were concerned about the July 1, 2017 date Obama set for letting in transgender people
The same day as Trump’s tweets were made, transgender airman Staff Sgt. Logan Ireland told Air Force Times, ‘I would like to see them try to kick me out of my military.’
‘You are not going to deny me my right to serve my country when I am fully qualified and able and willing to give my life.’
Ireland – who has served in Afghanistan – first shared his story in 2015, three years after he began transitioning, and consulted with the Air Force in 2016 as it drafted guidance for admitting transgender people after Obama’s announcement.
Another transgender man – corporal who did not wish to be named – told the site: ‘I have never described myself as trans; I’m a motherf***ing Marine.’
‘That’s all that matters. Don’t tarnish my title with your bigotry and fear of the unknown.’
Proud: Ireland (pictured) who has served in Afghanistan, said that he would continue serving in the military for as long as he was able