{"id":60907,"date":"2017-08-26T14:46:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-26T14:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/08\/26\/trump-directive-sparks-criticism-among-transgender-troops\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:54:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:54:34","slug":"trump-directive-sparks-criticism-among-transgender-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/08\/26\/trump-directive-sparks-criticism-among-transgender-troops\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump directive sparks criticism among transgender troops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SAN DIEGO \u2014 Active-duty transgender troops say a policy change that puts them at risk of being removed and indefinitely bars transgender people from enlisting in the military is a step backward for civil rights that will promote inequality in the armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump on Friday <a href=\"http:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2017\/08\/25\/trump-signs-memo-banning-transgender-service\/\">directed the Pentagon<\/a> to extend a ban on transgender individuals joining the military but gave the Pentagon the authority to decide the future of openly transgender people already serving. Trump appeared to leave open the possibility of allowing some transgender people who already are in uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The guidance from the White House contradicts Trump\u2019s words, Army Capt. Jennifer Sims said, pointing out that he just praised the military for its tolerance when he told veterans in Nevada on Wednesday that those in uniform come from all walks of life and are united by shared values and a shared sense of duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Days earlier, Trump, speaking to thousands of soldiers at the Army\u2019s Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, in Arlington, Virginia, denounced prejudice, bigotry and hate in the wake of violence that erupted at a rally organized by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to create this situation where there is a complete inequality in how transgender troops are treated,\u201d said Sims, 28, who is based in Germany and is taking pills to prepare for her transition surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is not the military\u2019s problem, said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, which has opposed allowing transgender people to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe armed forces are not just another equal opportunity employer,\u201d Donnelly said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military\u2019s limited funds, she added, should not be used \u201cto indulge transgender demands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transgender people have been allowed to serve openly in the military since June 2016. Trump, in a series of tweets on July 26, announced that he planned to end that policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government \u201cwill not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,\u201d he tweeted, contending that their service entailed \u201ctremendous medical costs and disruption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2016 study by the RAND Corp. estimated it would cost the military $2.4 million to $8.4 million a year to provide gender transition-related coverage, an increase of 0.04 percent to 0.13 percent in health care spending for active-duty members. Researchers estimated 29 to 129 active-duty service members annually would seek such treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2017\/08\/25\/trump-signs-memo-banning-transgender-service\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP-Trump-speech.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Trump signs memo banning transgender service<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The ban contains some exceptions and empowers Mattis to decide fates of those transgender personnel already in uniform.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to discharge thousands of transgender personnel, according to a study released this month by the Palm Center, an independent research institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The new guidance, as described by an official familiar with its contents but not authorized by the White House to discuss it publicly, appears to be less rigid than the complete ban that Trump tweeted about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The official said the guidance puts a stop to recruitment of transgender individuals and prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for sexual reassignment surgery, except in cases where it\u2019s deemed necessary to protect the health of an individual who has already begun the transition. But it would give Defense Secretary Jim Mattis six months to determine circumstances in which those currently in uniform who are openly transgender might be permitted to continue serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jennifer Levi, an attorney with the LGBT-rights group GLAAD, said that current policy \u201crequires equal treatment of transgender service members, including that they are subject to the same standards of deployment as other soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GLAAD and another LGBT-rights organization this month sued in U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of five transgender service members with nearly 60 years of combined military service. They had hoped to get a swift court decision on Trump\u2019s tweet that could prevent a ban from taking effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAny special or different rule for transgender soldiers is discrimination, plain and simple,\u201d she said. \u201cIt also harms the military and, ultimately, the safety of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump has argued that the military should not pay for medical care for transgender service members to transition to another gender, and that the process means they cannot be deployed, harming the readiness of the armed forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Service members say that is not true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the policy adopted under the Obama administration, commanders have the discretion to decide when to allow transgender troops to start their treatment to transition to a different gender to ensure that it does not disrupt operations. Commanders can also decide whether a person undergoing treatment is still fit to be deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Army Capt. Jennifer Peace, a transgender woman based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, said that she deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 while transitioning, and that there are other transgender troops serving there now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBeing transgender had had absolutely no impact on my fitness for duty,\u201d Peace said, adding that \u201cthere should be no transgender standard \u2014 there should be an Army standard. If I can make the Army standard, I should be able to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many health reasons can delay deployment, including pregnancy, knee or gall bladder operations, and laser eye surgery. Soldiers may also reschedule their treatments if they see it could have a negative effect on their unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/08\/26\/mccain-democrats-blast-trumps-transgender-ban\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635926830192823190-ap-811642176484jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">McCain, Democrats blast Trump&#8217;s transgender ban<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Senate Armed Services Chairman and numerous Democrats said the White House decision to dismiss transgender troops from the ranks could harm military readiness.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the military won\u2019t pay for their medical care, many transgender troops say, they will find a way to cover the costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann, who is president of SPARTA, a trans advocacy group, said he is telling concerned service members to wait for any legal challenges to play out and \u201ccontinue to succeed, show them we\u2019re not an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhich we haven\u2019t been, so I don\u2019t understand,\u201d said Dremann, 36.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Air Force Staff Sgt. Ashlee Bruce, 26, who works at Buckley Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, and plans to start medical treatment next month to transition, plans to speak out but won\u2019t go to court after taking an oath to respect the commander in chief\u2019s orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI want to stay in the military as long as they will have me,\u201d Bruce said. \u201cI love what I do. I think we make a positive impact day in and day out protecting our country and defending our way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>McDermott reported from Providence, Rhode Island. AP National Writer David Crary in New York and AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Active-duty transgender troops say a policy change that puts them at risk of being removed and indefinitely bars transgender people from enlisting in the military is a step backward for civil rights that will promote inequality in the armed forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":97743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":62,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,12,26,62,65],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6510],"class_list":["post-60907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-your-navy"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YNNG66V2QJEGXH264YTRRBHIVQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2017\/08\/26\/trump-directive-sparks-criticism-among-transgender-troops\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Trump directive sparks criticism among transgender troops - Navy Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Active-duty transgender troops say a policy change that puts them at risk of being removed and indefinitely bars transgender people from enlisting in the military is a step backward for civil rights that will promote inequality in the armed forces.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump directive sparks criticism among transgender troops\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Active-duty transgender troops say a policy change that puts them at risk of 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