Pentagon to Lift Ban on Transgender Service Members – Announcement Expected Shortly

Announcement Could Come Next Week, Could Come Later

The Pentagon is expected to announce it will finally lift the ban on open service of transgender service members shortly. The announcement could come as early as July 1 and is expected by July 4, according to USA Today. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said publicly early last year he saw no use for the ban, adding his only question is, “Are they going to be excellent service members?”

USA Today calls the decision “controversial,” and adds it “would end nearly a year of internal wrangling among the services on how to allow those troops to serve openly, according to Defense officials.”

The final review by “top personnel officials” is expected Monday, the newspaper reports, with Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work signing off on the plan “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.”

Implementation is expected to take a year.

But The Washington Post tells a bit of a different story, suggesting USA Today’s timeline may be off by a month.

“Specifics of the repeal are still under review, but the expectation among officials working on the issue is that the announcement will come by the end of next month, and possibly sooner, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal Pentagon deliberations.”

One unnamed official made it clear the timing is fluid: “Nothing has been set in stone on this.” 

Understandably, trans service members may be hesitant to start rejoicing. At the end of July 2015, Secretary Carter had sent a memo directing “officials to develop a plan within six months to incorporate” the Dept of Defense’s 15,000 transgender “troops into the ranks.” 

In February of 2015, Sec. Carter had said he is “very open-minded” about the issue, and said that the only “important criteria” is, “Are they going to be excellent service members?”

“I don’t think anything but their suitability for service should preclude them,” from serving, he said, adding, “we want to make our conditions and experience of service as attractive as possible to our best people in our country.”

One week later, the President’s press secretary announced he was in full agreement.

 

Image via U.S. Dept of Defense/Twitter