Transgender vet wonders what Trump’s action means for him, others
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For Chance Thomas, President Donald Trump’s decision to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military was personal.
“Does my military service even count?” Mr. Thomas said Wednesday.
Mr. Thomas, 36, of Brighton Heights, is a transgender veteran. For him, serving in the Navy while dealing with his gender identity required courage — knowing that he might face discrimination one day and the next “might actually have to die for the person’’ beside him.
That experience left him with these questions: Aren’t people with that kind of courage the ones the country needs to protect it? And shouldn’t Mr. Trump prioritize caring for those who are most marginalized and discriminated against?
“Our country was built on people taking care of each other,” Mr. Thomas said. “Why would you turn your back?”
When Mr. Thomas was in the Navy, he identified as a woman and a lesbian. He said that despite moments of discrimination, “When it came down to it, when we were in Iraq and Afghanistan, nobody cared.”
He was medically retired from the Navy in 2005 due to a neck injury. In 2010, he decided to receive hormone therapy as he transitioned to a man.
Before the therapy, Mr. Thomas was being treated for depression through the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.
“Once I started transition, I didn’t need those pills anymore,” he said.
The cost of such treatment, Mr. Trump said in making his declaration Wednesday, is “tremendous.”
But Mr. Thomas questions that: “I want to know what numbershe’s looking at.”
In July 2016, the Pentagon repealed a policy that banned transgender people from serving. As of October, those already in service were allowed access to medical care and to formally change their gender identification within the Pentagon’s personnel system.
July 1 was initially set as the date that new transgender individuals could join the military — provided they had been “stable” in their gender identity for 18 months. In June, military officials announced a sixmonth delay before letting transgender individuals enlist. Mr. Trump’s announcement has prolonged the delay indefinitely.
A RAND Corp. study commisioned by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and published in March 2016, when the military did not allow transgender individuals to serve, estimated that the added costs of covering health care for them would amount to $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year — a negligible amount.
A study by the New England Journal of Medicine reported similar findings, based in part on the small percentage of transgender individuals in the military.
Going forward, Mr. Thomas has many worries: What will happen to the transgender individuals currently serving? What will happen to his status as a veteran and his health care? Will this decision set a precedent for other employers to discriminate against transgender people?
For now, Mr. Thomas will continue his advocacy. He works as a logistics and shipping coordinator but channels most of his energy into TransPride Pittsburgh, which he co-founded. The organization originally focused on providing safe spaces for transgender individuals but has grown and now runs educational events, including a September conference for health care providers.
“My military career actually shaped my trans life. I won’t back down,” he said.