President Donald Trump announced on Twitter on Wednesday morning that he is reversing President Barack Obama’s directive allowing those who identify as transgender into the military.
In three consecutive tweets, he said, “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military will entail. Thank you.”
After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
….victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2017
At the time of this writing, there is no executive order or press release available at WhiteHouse.gov. The Department of Defense has not released an official statement either.
The policy under President Obama that announced last summer by then Secretary of Defense Carter Ash allowed transgender individuals to openly serve, as well as, transition while in the military. It also included training for service members. The policy also stated that the services would be responsible for the medical treatment and care for transgendered service members which meant paying for treatments such as hormone replacement therapy and sex change operations.
Some studies have shown the cost of those services would be minimal, but the troubling aspect of the Obama directive was the idea of taxpayers paying for elective treatments that many health insurance providers don’t cover.
Many military members and civilian employees objected to having to participate in LGBT training based upon their religious beliefs and conscientious objections.
Last month the Department of Defense announced it was delaying the implementation of President Obama’s directive by six months.
Conservative groups praised the decision.
“Social experimentation has absolutely no place in the military. The most important thing Washington, D.C. can do in regard to our troops is to ensure proper readiness and safeguard morale. President Trump is right to make this decision, and we support him one hundred percent,” Terry Schilling, executive director of American Principles Project, said.
“I applaud President Trump for making America safe again,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. “The military is a lethal weapon designed to protect America and our allies. It is not a social club, a social experimentation petri dish, or ClubMed. The focus should be military readiness and unit cohesion. The President has kept his promise to return to military priorities by not continuing the ‘transgender’ policy that undermines unit cohesion, preparedness, and morale. The duty of military officers is to appropriately lead and prepare their personnel to serve and protect, and they cannot do that when there is confusion, dysfunction, and safety issues within the barracks.”
LGBTQ activists say that President Trump broke his promise.
“President Trump promised to protect the transgender community. As President, he said he was ‘respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights’ and would ‘protect the community from violence and oppression.’ But President Trump has broken his promise and, coupled with his administration’s efforts to roll back protections for transgender students in our nation’s public schools, he is developing an undeniable pattern of anti-gay and anti-transgender policy while in office,” Tyler Deaton, senior advisor for the American Unity Fund, said in a released statement.
Update: J.R. Salzman, a freelance writer who is an Iraq vet and wounded warrior, responded to this news on Twitter. (Language warning)
I served in Iraq in 2006. For the first five months I was on a 12 man firebase out in the middle of nowhere in the desert.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Everyday was Groundhog Day. Wake up and do the same patrols, the same shifts, every single day. It was so damn hot. 150° in the gun trucks.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Tracer fire would go overhead occasionally at night. IED's on the road were a daily threat. We got resupplied food every 8 days.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
QRF was an hour away. After they made the minimum three gun truck rule after the guys got kidnapped, life got harder.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
The stress of being out there and doing the same job every single day eats away at you. The younger guys had problems with that overtime.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Any tiny little personal issue they had suddenly became a mountain. And that shit came out on that fire base. And they snapped mentally.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
After stepping on each other's nuts living in the same can for five months, guys were at each other's throats. The stress made it worse.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Guys would literally snap over a dear John letter. Their personal issues came out and they were instantly combat ineffective.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Now take someone confused about whether they are a man/woman. Take those psychological and emotional issues and put them in that environment
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Take someone who is right off the bat not uniform or part of the same team. Give them special treatment because of their identity.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Take that person, put them in that stressful war environment and watch what happens. It's a fucking ticking time bomb.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
You have to be incredibly tough mentally, physically and emotionally. War is not a fucking video game. It tests every ounce of your being.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
You can't teach someone to be a fearless warrior in a fucking PowerPoint. You either have it or you don't. You can hack it or you can't.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
We had guys who couldn't. When faced with combat situations they crumbled. They had mental and emotional issues. They were a liability.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
To be successful at war, you have to become a warrior mentally, physically, and emotionally. You can't fake it and go through the motions.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
In war if it comes down to kill or be killed, and you hesitate, you're dead. It's a simple as that. It's not a fucking video game.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
War is no place for people who are mentally, emotionally, or physically confused or in turmoil. You have your shit together, or you don't.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
And if you don't, you'll just get people needlessly killed. Political correctness has absolutely no place in the military.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
Enough for now. This one armed veteran has a business to run. Unlike Iran, the country that took my arm, Obama didn't pay me millions.
— J.R. Salzman (@jrsalzman) July 26, 2017
