Transgender Troops Now Allowed in the U.S. Military

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. military has decided to retract on its previously-held policy of banning transgender individuals from joining the military. Starting next month, U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is said to be announcing the repudiation of this ban.

This change in policy was suggested by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in July, but due to the changes in administration, it was put off until now.

While it is more than likely that this ban will be repealed, there has been some push back stemming largely from the U.S. Marine Corps, arguing that the projected costs, that would arise as a result of this policy change, would be deleterious to the status quo.

An independent study from the RAND Corporation has revealed that there are no major obstacles to implementing this change and that it would do no harm. Many opponents to the repudiation of this ban suggest that attempting to integrate transgenders into the military to reduce the cohesive social dynamic that the military has worked to create thus far since its inception.

In addition, they argue that the healthcare costs will rise as a result of the treatments that transgenders will require such as undergoing hormone therapy and transitional treatments.

Such arguments, however, as argued by proponents of repealing the ban, appear to fall somewhat short as the costs associated with transgender healthcare in the military would be negligible. Take for instance the F-35, a new generation aircraft that has been mass produced by the U.S. military; the cost of a single F-35 multi-role fighter jet would be able to finance up to 30 years of transgender healthcare associated costs.

According to the Defense Department, they confirm that there are at least 77 transgender individuals who openly identify as such, while the true number may be even higher reaching in the thousands. So in essence, this policy would not affect that many individuals thus resulting in a minimal burden to the U.S. military in terms of costs.

Since the Obama administration has came to power, ‘progressive’ policies such as the ban on “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” allowing women to be in combat infantry positions, and most recently, the removal of the transgender ban have all been a component of President Obama’s attempt to not only create a more inclusive military, but an inclusive society as well.

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