Transgenders in the U.S. Army

The military is notorious for moving slowly when it comes to administrative tasks — think veterans waiting for doctor’s appointments for months and months on end through the Department of Veterans Affairs. But when it comes to accommodations for transgender people by the Obama administration, the wheels apparently turn quickly.

Just weeks after the Pentagon moved to allow transgender service members to serve openly, Army officials said 10 soldiers have come forward asking to be recognized by their preferred gender.

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For those who might have a son or daughter entering the military or a family member considering doing so, it’s wise to understand the lasting changes that are taking place in all branches of service.

A directive dated Oct. 7 laid out the path for soldiers to obtain a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from an Army medical provider, put together a transition plan with their doctor and their command — and eventually change their gender in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System, according to the Army Times.

The new policy took effect Oct. 1, with Army Secretary Eric Fanning approving the service’s transgender guidelines earlier this month. Last June, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced he was ending the ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military.

Transition plans will be individual as far as surgeries, hormones, or other medical interventions.

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Costs associated with all of this vary widely. Each military member has to determine the mix of physical transformations he or she wants to undertake. Hormone therapy, for instance, costs about $100 a month, according to the Transgender Law Center.

Sex reassignment surgery can cost tens of thousands of dollars, according to the Army Times. Other surgeries can include breast implants or reductions, tracheal shaving, and “facial tweaks” — which the Army could potentially cover.

This substantive change in the military is happening even as experts caution against surgery for those who perceive themselves as trans.

Just last year, Dr. Paul R. McHugh, the former psychiatrist-in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital and its current distinguished service professor of psychiatry, told The Wall Street Journal that transgenderism is a “mental disorder,” that true sex change is “biologically impossible,” and that those who promote sexual reassignment surgery are collaborating with and promoting a mental disorder.

McHugh also noted that the suicide rate among trans individuals who had received sex reassignment surgery is a staggering 20 times higher than that of non-transgenders.

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But the progressive agenda, heedless of facts and intent on reaching all American institutions, including the military, rolls on. Gen. Mark Milley, chief of staff of the Army, said that now it is important to educate the force.

“Is the Army ready? Well, we are educating ourselves, and we are trying to get ready,” Milley said in an interview with the Associated Press. “We’re well past the issue of debating and arguing about transgender [issues]. We are now into execution, to make sure the program is carried out with diligence, dignity, [and] respect.”

Milley and other military leaders are concerned the changes that focus on gender and sexuality may be coming too fast.

“The issue to do it or not to do it, to me is not an issue. The answer is yes,” Milley said. “The question of how to do it so that it is deliberate, well thought-out, executed with professionalism — that’s a horse of a different color. Frankly, I asked for more time.”

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Transgenders serving in the military will be able to use the bathrooms, housing, and uniforms of their preferred gender only after they have legally transitioned to that identity — and after the change is fully documented in their military personnel records, reported the AP. Fitness standards will also change after documentation: A biological male who has transitioned to a female will need to meet only the physical fitness standards for females to be in good standing.

According to the new guidelines, commanders can allow “reasonable accommodations,” including changes to housing, bathroom and shower use to respect the privacy of soldiers and maintain morale, order, and discipline. The guidelines prohibit creating transgender-only areas and say that any privacy accommodations that are made must be open for use by all soldiers, not just transgender individuals.

Next year, the military will begin allowing transgender individuals to enlist, providing they meet required standards and have been “stable” in their identified gender for 18 months.

As for how transgender surgery will be paid for: “Transgender service members who are approved for sex-change surgery will be treated at either a military hospital or a private hospital through Tricare, if there is not a qualified provider at the military facility … Surgeries, and all other care, will be funded through the Defense Health Program appropriation,” according to a report in Stars and Stripes.