The Trump administration has issued official guidelines for the recently announced transgender military ban.
Last month, President Trump tweeted: "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow...Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming..victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you."
There were ample questions and confusion following that announcement, especially since the Trump administration had previously said Defense Secretary James Mattis was conducting a six-month review into transgender military service.
Now, however, the White House has clarified their stance on transgender military policy in a two-and-a-half-page document which was sent to the Pentagon, according to The New York Post.
The new regulations reportedly allow Mattis to determine whether or not a transgender individual would be able to complete a deployment. The Pentagon would have the power to deny military service to transgender individuals who are found to be unfit for deployment.
A transgender individual's ability to operate in a war zone, participate in rigorous exercises, and live for months at a time aboard a ship are some of the things the Pentagon will consider in determining a transgender individual’s ability to serve in the military.
Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Publication date: August 25, 2017
