The Biden administration reversed its predecessor’s ban on trans people in the military amid historically low recruitment
The Pentagon has extended special privileges to transgender service members including exemptions from readiness requirements and even the obligation to deploy, according to a new memo published by The Dossier on Tuesday.
Transgender servicemembers may secure a waiver from both grooming and uniform standards in order to obtain the “real life experience” deemed necessary to continue with medical transition, according to the 34-page document, which is not classified but was not previously available to the public and represents updated guidance as of February.
They may also obtain a waiver from physical fitness standards if experiencing negative side effects from hormone treatment, and these waivers can be renewed every six months.
A transitioning service member can even avoid deployment entirely while taking cross-sex hormones during their transition. They are considered “non-deployable” for a minimum of 300 days during this period, or until considered “stabilized” on the hormone cocktail. Given that trans people continue taking those hormones for the rest of their lives, an individual could conceivably avoid deployment indefinitely, so long as their endocrine health reads as unstable.
The military pays for every medical procedure involved in transitioning gender from psychological counseling to “voice feminization surgery,” the memo explains, with full transition time expected to take from 9 to 18 months.
While the Womack Army Medical Center, the document’s author, acknowledges that Defense Department facilities are not equipped to perform complex procedures like vaginoplasty or phalloplasty, it simply instructs the medical provider to refer them to the military’s extensive network of civilian practitioners instead. Only in the case of laser hair removal is the procedure not covered by the taxpayer.
Somewhat apologetically, the memo notes that while a recruit may identify as non-binary or gender-fluid, they are required to select a gender marker of male or female – not because the Pentagon wishes to “misgender or disrespect a [servicemember’s] gender identity,” but because “the current medical and Army system views gender as a dichotomous variable.”
President Joe Biden reversed his predecessor’s ban on transgender people serving in the military shortly after taking office in 2021. Former president Donald Trump had banned them from serving in 2017. While the military repealed its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 2011, allowing gay and lesbian troops to serve openly, gender dysphoria was still considered cause for involuntary discharge from the service until 2016.
All branches of the US military have faced some of the worst recruiting shortfalls in their history, and Republican lawmakers have blamed the Pentagon’s prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion over military readiness.
