Allowing Open Transgender Military Service Would Pose Few Difficulties, Report Finds

A report commissioned by the Pentagon on the effects of allowing transgender individuals to serve openly shows there would be little to no impact, including negligible costs and minimal effect on military cohesion or readiness, based on the experience of similar policies in other countries.

The results of the study, by the Rand Corp., indicate there would be few difficulties posed by policies allowing for open service by transgender individuals, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter pledged last year to pursue changes. But despite studying the issue and assigning a working group to recommend ways to implement any change, Mr. Carter has yet to move forward on formally changing the policy.

“This is a complicated issue,” Mr. Carter said last week in an appearance in Colorado Springs, Colo. Mr. Carter said later that day that “we know exactly where we’re going” and that officials are doing a careful and thorough job of determining how the policy would be implemented and that results would be announced soon.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal

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