The Army chief of staff said Thursday he first learned about President Trump’s ban on transgender military service through news reports.
Gen. Mark Milley said it was not unusual that the major policy announcement would reach the Army chief the “same way as everyone else.” Milley said he and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had not yet received any written directive on the ban from the president and were waiting for guidance following the president’s tweets Wednesday morning.
“I personally did not [have advanced notice] nor would I have expected to,” Milley told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington. “Some people are trying to make this out as if it’s particularly unique. If I had a nickel for every time I read decisions in the news over the last 10, 15, 20 years, I’d probably be a pretty wealthy guy right now.”
Trump’s tweets announcing that transgender people would no longer be able to serve in any capacity in the military took most of the Pentagon by surprise, sending staff scrambling over the reversal of policy issued last year integrating those troops. In the message, Trump said he made the decision based on “my Generals and military experts,” yet it’s still unclear who those generals are.
“I would ask the president and the White House to characterize that portion of the statement,” said Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, when asked who Trump was referring to.
The Pentagon released an official statement saying it was waiting on that guidance from Trump, and Dunford advised the services to treat every member with respect during the wait.
“We will work through the implementation guidance when we get it, and then, we will move from there,” Milley said.
The Army chief of staff also acknowledged the transgender integration effort started last year has not been completely smooth. Last months, service chiefs successfully requested Mattis delay plans for transgender recruiting by six months.
“I’ll be candid — there’s a variety of issues. This is a complex issue, and there’s a variety of challenges out there that we have to deal with, and we’ve been working through it, but this is not clean cut either way,” he said. “Yes, we have had to deal with problems. We don’t get it in the media, we deal with it professionally, quietly with dignity and respect for the individual and the institution.”
