While answering questions from service members in Kandahar, Afghanistan, newly sworn-in Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter revealed that he is “open-minded” about transgendered individuals serving in the military, adding, “I don’t think anything but their suitability for service should preclude them.”
Carter is in Afghanistan to assess the security situation in the country less than a week after officially assuming his position. His remarks were in response to an unidentified service member at a troop event organized to welcome the new secretary. While the question was specifically about the transgendered serving in an “austere environment” like Kandahar, Carter’s reply seems to have broader application. Here’s the full exchange [emphasis added]:
USA Today reported last week that the Army was considering easing its policy on transgendered soldiers, making it more difficult to remove them from the service. According to the Washington Blade, Carter “did not discuss the ban on openly transgender servicemembers or other LGBT-specific issues” during his confirmation hearings.
