President Trump caused quite the kerfuffle late last month when he issued a statement that transgender individuals would no longer be welcomed into the military: “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 transgenders in the military would entail. Thank you.”
President Obama’s Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended the ban on October 1, 2016, reasoning that the military needs all the best talent. (Transgenders make up about 0.3 percent of the fighting force.)
Since then, transgenders have been able to openly serve, and even change their gender identity with the Pentagon. They’ve also begun receiving medical care.
When asked whether gender reassignment surgery would be available to current transgenders in the military, Carter stated that “transition-related care” and “medically-necessary care” as determined by military physicians would be offered. (Note that this is a long-winded way of saying “Yes, we are going to pay for it”). Carter added that one-third of Fortune 500 companies offer healthcare services that include “transgender-inclusive coverage”, including reassignment surgeries and hormone therapies. (Yes, but taxpayers don’t pay for Fortune 500 healthcare plans to cover their employees).
The DOD policy specifically states that if a medical condition is hindering a transgender service member’s ability to serve, then the military will provide medical treatment. This means a person can join, then say they’re gender identity (gender dysphoria) is preventing them from serving in full capacity; that person will receive the surgery but the timing must be approved by their commanding officer. Soldiers would attempt to have the surgery in a military hospital, but if that hospital does not have the capability, the taxpayer would cover the cost at a private hospital.
Gender reassignment surgeries can cost more than $100,000 per individual. As much as $8.4 million could be needed to cover the cost of military transgenders who wish to have the surgery. At a minimum, the person would be away from active duty for 115-135 days, and quite possibly for nearly a year (268 days) if there are post-operative complications; about 20 percent have substantial post-op issues.
About 150 transgenders are estimated as wanting the surgery, so they would be non-deployable and non-active duty status. That could also saddle the American people with more than a billion dollars in healthcare (and that’s just for one year). It adds up, not to mention that the surgeries do absolutely nothing toward military readiness. This is the reason why many say that this is a convenient way for the LGBTQ community to get a free benefit at taxpayer expense.
Carter’s original edict called for the military to have a plan by July 1, 2017 regarding how to bring new transgenders into the military. Carter stressed that these individuals would have to meet all the usual qualifications, and be “stable in their identified genders for 18 months.”
Trump’s response was an answer to Carter’s July 1 deadline. For the rest of 2017, the military will not accept transgender applicants for any branch of service. Secretary Mattis stated the delay gives the administration time to review their plans.
Immediately, opponents to Trump’s plan began vocally speaking out against the President. Several news outlets began erroneously reporting very high numbers of transgender service people already serving in the military, on the order of 15,000 to 25,000. One such news outlet, National Public Radio (NPR), issued a correction, saying that they reported 25,000 when the actual number was really 2,500. Despite many media requests, the Pentagon has stated it will not release any data on transgender troops.
A RAND Corporation study estimates 2,500 to 7,000 active duty troops, with another 1,500 to 4,000 transgenders serving in the military reserves.
Trump’s press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that Trump did not flippantly make this decision. Instead, she said he “made this decision after extensive discussions with his national security team. It is a difficult decision, but the president does think it is the best decision for our military.” Trump’s national security team describes the allowance of transgenders as “expensive” and “disruptive to the cohesive nature of a military unit.”
Those that agree with Trump’s new policy say that the military would incur tremendous costs for hormone replacement therapies and gender reassignment surgeries. They question how a gender reassignment surgery is related to the military mission and readiness.
Supporters believe that this is a gross misuse of government and taxpayer funds that should be spent instead on helping soldiers who are already wounded or injured.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
