Transgender troops “will be able to use the bathrooms, housing, uniforms and fitness standards of their preferred gender only after they have legally transitioned to that identity,” according to guidelines emerging in a report from the AP ahead of a rumored announcement that the U.S. military ban will be lifted.
Troops undergoing the process of gender transition would not be able to dress as their preferred gender while on-duty.
RELATED: U.S. Military to Lift Ban on Transgender Troops in July
Commanders will also be able to make decisions on a case-by-case basis, approve shower usage and other accommodations, as well as determine “job placement, deployments and training delays, based on the needs of the military mission and whether the service member can perform their duty,” according to the report.
Officials familiar with the new plan said people with gender dysphoria, a history of medical treatments associated with gender transition and those who have had reconstruction surgery may be disqualified as military recruits unless a medical provider certifies that they have been clinically stable in the preferred gender for 18 months, and are free of significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas. ‘Also, transgender troops receiving hormone therapy must have been stable on the medication for 18 months.
USA Today recently reported that an official announcement from the military could come as soon as July 1. The process of lifting the ban has been underway for nearly a year, but the AP suggests certain top-ranking military officials were concerned that the plan’s guidelines are not specific enough and that they did not have enough time to implement it properly.
(photo David B. Gleason wikimedia commons)
