US Military and Trans-rights

Sean Campbell
Jul 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Today we got news from the Trump administration, via his official Twitter that the military would be reversing their decision on allowing Transgenders to enlist in the military. Secretary of Defense James Mattis reportedly was consulted on the decision, but it’s difficult to know what conspired, particularly since Mattis is currently on vacation this week. Just a few weeks ago, Mattis announced that he was giving military commanders another six months to review whether allowing transgender people to enlist would impact military readiness in combat situations. Transgender troops already serving would not be affected by this review. Others have questioned if Trump is “listening to his Generals” as he claimed, why not wait until December when the official report is out for review?

The US military has standards you must adhere to. It is not a human right to join, it is a privilege. When Democrats started on a war path demanding people pay for gender surgery, you put Trans people in the spotlight. Gender Dysphoria is well recognized by the psychiatric board of health.

The US military also doesn’t let you join if you display visible tattoos (hands and neck) except Navy, have felonies, reach a certain age over 34 unless the recruiter specified otherwise, be overweight and not be able to meet standards of physical requirements, take diabetes dependent insulin at the time of enlistment, be on ADHD dependent medication within 12 months, have ear gauges, do not have a HS diploma or equivalent, take anxiety or anti depressant medications, and receive a 33 or lower on the Armed Forces equivalency test.

The military exists to protect not just the United States but the entire free world. Countries are not pulling their weight when it comes to defense spending. Our national security and their protection is reliant on precision not your feelings. As of July 1st 2017 the US Navy started forcing soldiers to take courses relating to transgender behavioral. LT. Jessica Anderson spokeswoman for Naval Personnel Command, to Military.com “Service members are expected to maintain standards of conduct and treat each other with dignity and respect,” Anderson said. “Training for sailors will be conducted by command triads via mobile training teams or DVD with a facilitation guide if the unit is in a remote area and unable to receive face-to-face training. There will also be webinars for COs to ask questions prior to delivering training to their commands.”

Joshua Ryan a former US Army Sergeant Infantry division states, “If you’re in the military, your only priority is to train for combat, and then deploy to combat. If you’re in the military, you should not be going under any procedures not necessary to help you do your job in combat. If you are sidelined from a medical procedure that wasn’t essential to keeping you an effective warfighter, you are a pointless soldier, and you are doing harm to your units cohesion and over all combat readiness which isn’t fair to the other soldiers relying on you doing your job for their survival.” Are we to believe this potential decision comes from a place of bigotry, or the military doing what’s best to bring their units home in one piece? Joshua Ryan goes on to say, “However that doesn’t mean transgenders shouldn’t serve, that just means they shouldn’t be going under any procedures while serving in the military.”

41% of Transgenders attempt suicide, and another 62% say they’ve experienced depression. US soldiers are expected to be at the top of their game at all times, for themselves, and for the safety of the men and women around them. The military is no place for political correctness, gender pronouns, and tip-toeing around blunt truths to adhere to a soldiers feelings. They say the military is no place for the faint of heart, and I could not agree more. This is not an environment for the mentally unstable, people rely on you, your country needs you, and your unit expects everything from you.

The average gender reassignment surgery is upwards of about $150,000 once all is said and done. Is this something the American tax payer should be forking over? Is this something a soldier should be taking time off to have done, rather than training with their assigned unit?

If the US military can’t afford to enlist soldiers who already require basic mental health needs, are we sure that Transgenders serving is the right path? Sometimes to understand that which we aren’t familiar with we must throw morality out the window. The military doesn’t need to be another branch of virtue signaling, tax dollar indoctrinated mistakes. It needs to be the best of the best combat ready fighting units ready to be called on at any time, and any place it needs to be.

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