No changes to transgender policy, says US military chief

Defence secy Mattis silent as defence department refers all questions to the White House

WASHINGTON: The US military will continue to permit transgender individuals to serve openly until defence secretary Jim Mattis has received President Donald Trump’s “direction” to change the policy and figured out how to implement it, America’s top military officer said on Thursday.

In a memo to all military service chiefs, commanders and enlisted military leaders, Gen Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said “there will be no modifications” to current policy for now, amid questions about Trump’s tweet that the US government will not “accept or allow” transgender people to serve in any capacity in the military.

“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect,” Dunford wrote. “As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions.”

The Dunford statement suggests that Mattis was given no presidential direction on changing the transgender policy.

Mattis has been on vacation this week and has been publicly silent amid questions about Trump’s announced ban. His spokesmen declined to comment.

On Wednesday they said the Pentagon would work with the White House and provide revised guidance to the military “in the near future.” Dunford also was not aware that Trump was going to announce the ban, an official said.

Trump’s announcement caught the Pentagon flat-footed and unable to explain what it called Trump’s “guidance.”

“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,” the commander in chief tweeted.

Trump wrote that he had consulted with “my generals and military experts,” but he did not mention Mattis, the retired Marine general who recently told the service chiefs to spend another six months weighing the costs and benefits of allowing transgender individuals to enlist. At the time, Mattis said this “does not presuppose the outcome of the review,” but Trump’s tweets appeared to have done just that.

Trump’s declaration appears to halt a decades-long trend toward more inclusive policies on military service, including the repeal in 2010 of a ban on gays serving openly. Bill Clinton in 1993 began the push to allow gays to serve. In December 2015, then Pentagon chief Ash Carter announced that all military positions would be open to women. Liberalizing policy on transgender troops was the next step.

Transgender service members have been able to serve openly since 2016.