The U.S. Army confirmed that it would be providing transition surgeries and care for transgender service members after President Joe Biden repealed a Trump-era order that largely forbade them from joining the military.
The directive, outlined in a memo, mandates a soldier’s gender identity can no longer bar him or her from service, be the cause for involuntary separation, or be a basis for discrimination, Maj. Gen. Douglas Stitt said in a Friday press conference. If a soldier is diagnosed with gender dysphoria, medical personnel will be authorized to facilitate transition surgeries so that soldiers may have access to showers and bathrooms aligning with their self-identified gender.
“Every soldier is different,” Stitt said. “When a military medical provider gives a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, that soldier will need to sit down with their chain of command and medical provider to determine what is medically necessary for an effective transition.”
ARMY RELEASES RECRUITMENT ADVERTISEMENT FEATURING LESBIAN WEDDING
“People are the strength of our Army,” he added. “Our ability to assess and retain qualified personnel provides a more diverse and stronger Army, enhancing readiness.”
The updated policy applies to all active-duty service members, including the National Guard and military cadets. Commanders have been instructed to approach gender transition surgeries as if they were other routine medical procedures.
Once an operation is complete, a soldier may change his or her gender in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. Transgender service members will be subject to the same grooming, physical, and drug-free standards as their counterparts.
On Jan. 25, Biden signed an executive order intending to allow “all Americans who are qualified” to serve in the armed forces. The president directed the Homeland Security and defense secretaries to adopt the new policy, and he insisted “enabling transgender individuals to serve openly in the United States military would have only a minimal impact on military readiness and healthcare costs.”
This was followed up by memos from both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough on gender reassignment surgery.
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The Veterans Affairs Department announced that it plans to offer gender transition surgeries for retired service members, though the policy could take months or even years to be adopted. Currently, the VA offers “hormone therapy, mental health care, preoperative evaluation, and post-operative and long-term care following gender confirming surgery,” though it is forbidden by law from conducting the procedures itself, according to the government body’s website.
The military has faced staunch criticism from conservative lawmakers and has been accused of caving to “woke” groups with a slew of new advertisements and statements from top generals and other leaders. In one high-profile instance, the Army faced pushback for peddling an ad that featured a lesbian wedding in an effort to recruit soldiers.
