Decision to start or delay transgender troop policy rests with Defense chief Jim Mattis

 

(Photo: TASOS KATOPODIS, EPA)

 WASHINGTON — The decision on whether to develop a policy for transgender recruits for the military now rests with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Friday.

Dana White, the Pentagon's chief spokeswoman, said the chiefs of the military services met with Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work Thursday, and now Mattis must decide whether to implement the policy on July 1 as originally planned or delay it. 

USA TODAY reported the Army had sought a two-year delay in implementing the policy, while the Marine Corps wanted a one-year delay.

The Associated Press reported Friday that the service chiefs had agreed to ask for a six-month delay because of concerns that anything longer would trigger problems in Congress. 

Meanwhile, the Army has begun compulsory transgender sensitivity training for soldiers and civilians as the Pentagon continues to develop its policy for transgender troops.

“Transgender troops have been serving openly and effectively for a year, as predicted by all of the research showing that inclusive policy for LGBT troops promotes readiness," said Aaron Belkin, the director of the Palm Center, a nonprofit group that advocates for transgender troops.

“A s​ix-month​ delay of the last piece of inclusive policy, the repeal of the enlistment ban, will only produce redundant evidence about the contributions of transgender service members," Belkin said. "Indeed, the chiefs who are demanding ongoing delay are not bringing any new arguments or new data to the table, but are recycling long-discredited concerns whose only basis is emotion and politics, not data. It is particularly remarkable, as the Army spends an additional $300 million to recruit 6,000 soldiers this year, that it would seek to turn away Americans who are fit and eager to serve." 

Source: USATODAY