LEGAL/LGBTQ/MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Pentagon for the first time has detailed the provisions it will use in admitting transgender recruits, issuing a memorandum that encompasses medical exams, room assignments and how the military will determine someone’s gender.
The memorandum envisions a Jan. 1 start for the process of admitting transgender recruits, in line with court rulings that have rejected President Donald Trump’s move to ban military service by transgender individuals.
The seven-page memo, dated Dec. 8 and released this week as part of court filings, states that incoming service members will be recognized by their preferred gender, even if they haven’t completed the necessary medical procedures. Service members who don’t specify a preferred gender are to be listed by the military by the gender listed on their birth certificate.
The gender designation will determine their room assignment, bathroom assignment, underwear requirements, height and weight standards and medical exams, the memo stated…
The memorandum was included in court documents filed Tuesday by opponents of the Trump administration’s ban, intended to show the military was prepared to begin admitting transgender recruits.
The Justice Department responded Wednesday, arguing the memo shows the military is ‘scrambling’ to meet the court order to start admissions on Jan. 1, an assertion rebutted by opponents of the transgender service ban…
The memorandum tackles some of the complex medical decisions that the U.S. military will confront.”
-Nancy A. Youssef, “Pentagon Details How It Will Admit Transgender Recruits,” The Wall Street Journal online, Dec. 20, 2017 06:30pm