Pentagon’s trans policy unchanged
WASHINGTON — The nation’s highest-ranking military officer said Thursday that the Pentagon has made “no modifications” to the Obama-era policy allowing transgender troops to openly serve in the military, a day after President Donald Trump used social media to declare them banned from the armed forces.
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote in a memo to commanders and senior enlisted leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines that the military would continue to “treat all of our personnel with respect.”
Dunford said Pentagon policy on transgender troops would not change until the White House has issued
Trump’s directive to Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis through formal channels, not on Twitter, and the secretary’s office issues guidance on implementation to the service chiefs.
The memo voiced neither support for nor opposition to Trump’s decision, and appeared intended to calm confusion at the Pentagon, which was blindsided when Trump declared early Wednesday on Twitter that the military would not “accept or allow” transgender troops to serve “in any capacity.”
Dunford’s memo did not answer the question of when, how and whether the Pentagon would reimpose gender-based discrimination, and what would happen to thousands of transgender troops, including many deployed overseas, now in the armed forces.
Dunford’s memo sought to allay those fears, at least for the short term.
“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,” he wrote.
“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect,” he added. “As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions.”
A change of U.S. military policy is typically subject to months, if not years, of study and legal vetting before it’s rolled out. In this case, Trump told Mattis on Tuesday, a day before he put out the decision on Twitter.
Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley told reporters Thursday that he learned about Trump’s transgender ban on television.
If implemented, the president’s directive would reverse a year-old policy that allowed transgender soldiers to openly serve for the first time in the active-duty force and the reserves. It also allowed them to seek gender reassignment surgery, hormone therapy and other treatments at military hospitals.
Trump’s announcement not only marked a retreat for the Pentagon’s effort to drop discriminatory hurdles, but it was also an about-face for Trump, who had repeatedly vowed during the presidential campaign to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
The decision appealed to social conservatives.
Trump’s decision also appears to pre-empt a Pentagon study on whether to allow openly transgender people to enlist. The military was expected to begin that process July 1, but Mattis approved a six-month delay June 30.
In his tweets, Trump said he had decided to bar transgender troops because the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”
Neither claim appeared accurate. The medical costs are negligible, and transgender troops have served openly for the last year without disruption.
A RAND Corp. study commissioned by the Pentagon last year concluded that allowing transgender troops to serve openly would cost an extra $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year in military health care costs, a miniscule fraction of Pentagon spending.
The study also predicted “little or no impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness” by letting transgender troops openly serve.
Trump’s declaration drew rebuke from many war veterans and LGBT advocacy groups, who vowed to challenge the president in federal court if self-identified transgender service members are forced out of the military.
More than 20 years ago, the Supreme Court said the government may not openly discriminate against gays and lesbians.
In the past, Pentagon lawyers had argued that the courts should defer to the military when deciding who could serve in the armed forces. But those arguments would carry little weight now, since the Defense Department has encouraged gays, lesbians and transgender Americans to join its ranks.
A legal ban on transgender troops could also be challenged as a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids employers from discriminating based on race, sex or religion.
Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, Joint Chiefs of Staff chariman “In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect.”