US Military lifts ban on transgender personnel serving openly

US: The pentagon has announced on Thursday that transgender personnel will no longer be barred from serving openly in the US military, a decision that immediately drew criticism.
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said, lifting the ban on transgender service personnel is "the right thing to do, and it's another step in ensuring that we continue to recruit and retain the most qualified people."

"Good people are the key to the best military in the world."

The US military had banned gay troops from discussing openly their sexuality under a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy up until five years ago.
The new transgender policy is expected to come into effect immediately but will be phased out totally during a one-year period.
The Pentagon stated that the services will start permitting transgender personnel to sign up, if they have met the required physical and mental standards to do so by July 1 next year.

The move is the latest in a series of Pentagon personnel reforms under Carter, who has often emphasized the need for the military to modernize to draw from as deep a talent pool as possible.

The Pentagon will cover medical expenses related to being transgender, including gender reassignment surgeries when these are deemed "medically necessary" under the new policy.


According to RAND study, the US military has about 1.3 million service members of which a around 2,500 of these active-duty service members are transgender, as well as about 1,500 out of approximately 825,000 reserve troops.
Carter stated that. at least 18 countries already allow transgender personnel to serve openly in their militaries, including Britain, Israel and Australia.