Very good news -- and much overdue.
From a DoD news release:
Working Group to Study Implications of Transgender Service
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2015 – A Defense Department working group will study the policy and readiness implications of welcoming transgender persons to serve openly in the military, and its work will presume they can do so unless objective and practical impediments are identified, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced today. In a statement announcing the working group, Carter said that over the last 14 years of conflict, the Defense Department has proven itself to be a learning organization. “This is true in war, where we have adapted to counterinsurgency, unmanned systems, and new battlefield requirements such as [mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles],” Carter said. “It is also true with respect to institutional activities, where we have learned from how we repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," from our efforts to eliminate sexual assault in the military, and from our work to open up ground combat positions to women. “Throughout this time,” he continued, “transgender men and women in uniform have been there with us, even as they often had to serve in silence alongside their fellow comrades in arms.”
Outdated Regulations Causing Uncertainty
The Defense Department's current regulations regarding transgender service members are outdated and are causing uncertainty that distracts commanders from DoD’s core missions, the secretary said. “At a time when our troops have learned from experience that the most important qualification for service members should be whether they're able and willing to do their job, our officers and enlisted personnel are faced with certain rules that tell them the opposite,” he added. “Moreover, we have transgender soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines - real, patriotic Americans - who I know are being hurt by an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that's contrary to our value of service and individual merit.”
Keep reading HERE.
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