LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump will bar transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, he said, arguing their service brought ‘tremendous medical costs and disruption.’
‘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,’ Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday [7-26-17] morning. ‘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.’
In June 2016, the Obama administration moved to lift the U.S. military’s years-old ban on transgender individuals serving openly. A report commissioned by the Pentagon on the effects of allowing transgender individuals to serve openly, released in May 2016, found that policy shift would have little to no impact and negligible costs on military cohesion or readiness. The study, conducted by the Rand Corp., found that between 1,320 and 6,630 transgender individuals serve on active duty, amounting to about 0.05% of the total U.S. active force. The study pegged the likely estimate at 2,450.“
-Rebacca Ballhaus, “Trump Administration to Bar Transgender Individuals From Serving in U.S. Military,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 26, 2017 09:35am