‘We Will Continue to Treat All of Our Personnel With Respect’ Says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffÂ
A top U.S. general says there will be no modification or changes to existing policy on military service members who are transgender until there is direction from the President. Reuters broke the news, via Twitter, late Thursday morning.
The news appears to be a signal from General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (photo: right), that President Donald Trump is going to have to back up his decree banning all transgender service members – which he made Wednesday morning via three tweets – with a definitive demand and direction before anyone in the Pentagon takes it seriously.
It seems the general is seeking to reassure trans service members, which is something the Commander-in-Chief is supposed to be doing.
It also appears to be a statement of fact by someone who understands that Trump’s attack on the estimated 15,000 treansgender service members is an intentional distraction, one the Department of Defense has no time for.
In a follow-up story online Reuters reports on the full statement from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“There will be no modifications to the current policy until the President’s direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance,” Dunford said in the written message to service chiefs, commanders and senior enlisted leaders, seen by Reuters.
“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions.”
The statement by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is strong evidence President Trump likely lied when he stated he had consulted with his generals:
“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 U.S. Military,” Trump said via Twitter Wednesday, sparking a firestorm. “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.”
Expect legal challenges to Trump’s intention to discharge 15,000 honorably serving members of the armed forces with a stroke of his pen.
NBC News’ Peter Alexander posted the actual memo to Twitter:
RELATED STORIES:
Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee on Trump’s Total Transgender Ban: Not So Fast
BREAKING: Trump Announces Total Ban on Transgender Service Members
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Image:Â DoD photo by SSG Sean K. Harp via Flickr