The uniformed leaders of the Navy and Marine Corps said Thursday they have heard no reports that transgender troops have disrupted cohesion in their units or caused morale or disciplinary problems.
Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps commandant, testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that the only issues reported up to him involved some of the service’s 27 transgender troops being unavailable for duty due to medical treatment.
“So, for commanders, some of them have said ‘No, it’s not a problem at all.’ Others have said there is a lot of time where this individual may or may not be available,” Neller told the committee.
Both Neller and Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, were questioned about unit cohesion, disciplinary problems and morale as the Pentagon is proposing a new policy that would bar many transgender people from serving.
“I am not aware of any issues,” Richardson said during the questioning by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
Neller told Gillibrand that the Marines are concerned about the availability of Marines for duty.
“We are looking for deployability, but in the areas that you talked about, no, I have not heard of or have had reported to me any issues,” he said.
The proposed policy drafted by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and greenlit by President Trump cites concerns over the integration of transgender troops causing disruption among its justifications for rolling back the current open service policy.
Gen. Mark Milley, the Army chief of staff, testified last week that he was also unaware of any disruptions. The Pentagon has reported that nearly 1,000 active-duty service members are transgender and have sought medical treatment.
The Pentagon’s proposed policy, which is being blocked by federal court injunctions, also determined that medical treatment for transgender troops may not be effective and would burden the forces.
It would bar anybody diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who has been treated with hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery from enlisting. The 1,000 or so transgender troops already serving can remain and get treatment, but any future recruits must serve in their birth gender and cannot seek treatment.
