LGBTQ/MILITARY: “The U.S. military’s top uniformed officer said Tuesday [9-26-17] that transgender service members who meet the ‘physical and mental standards’ required by the military should be allowed to serve, a position that appeared to put him at odds with President Donald Trump…
Gen. Dunford, who serves as the principal military adviser to the president, provided the same recommendation to Mr. Trump, he told senators…
Mr. Trump on July 26 issued three Twitter messages in which he said that transgender members of the armed services no longer would be allowed to serve ‘in any capacity.’ The decision came as a surprise to many in the military, where officials were working to integrate transgender troops into the armed forces…
One month after Mr. Trump’s tweets, the White House issued a memo ordering the U.S. military to deny admittance to transgender service members and instructed Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to submit a memo on how to implement the ban by Feb. 21, 2018. The Pentagon has said that during that review, transgender service members would be allowed to continue serving.
An aide to Gen. Dunford said his statement to the committee was intended to reflect that policy, not to contradict Mr. Trump. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Gen. Dunford’s testimony.
A 2016 study conducted for the military by Rand Corp. concluded there are as many as 6,000 or more transgender service members.”
-Nancy A. Youssef, “Top General’s View of Transgender Troops Is at Odds With Trump’s,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 26, 2017 10:34pm