The military delayed the start of transgender recruiting this month mostly due to a disagreement over the science of treating gender dysphoria, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.
Top officers are divided on the use of mental health care and hormone therapy for the accepted medical term for the condition among recruits, and are also wrestling with other issues including physical standards, facilities, and training, said Gen. Paul Selva, who was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his reappointment as vice chief.
“Our decision to delay the accessions of transgender individuals into the services was largely based on a disagreement on the science of how mental health care and hormone therapy for transgender individuals would help solve their medical issues that are associated with gender dysphoria,” he said.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis granted a six-month delay in transgender recruiting just before a July 1 deadline after requests from service chiefs. The new policy of allowing open transgender service and recruitment was begun under the Obama administration. Transgender individuals already in the military are still allowed to serve openly. The delay involves recruiting only.
Mattis said the delay is no indication that the Pentagon plans to backtrack on the integration.
Selva said there are a “host of other issues” beyond the disagreement over treatment science that must be solved before the military can move forward with recruiting.
The service chiefs are concerned about facilities and the curricula for transgender troops in basic training, “particularly those who have not undergone gender reassignment surgery and, while they present as their target gender, are physiologically still in their birth gender,” Selva said.
