Pentagon Lifts Ban On Transgender People Serving In Military

The Pentagon said Thursday that it is lifting a longstanding ban on transgender people serving in the military, a landmark decision that removes another barrier for people who wish to serve in America's armed forces but otherwise couldn't.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the announcement in a live stream on the Department of Defense website. Carter has been an outspoken figure for progressive values and equality in the military, appointing the Army's first openly gay secretary last month and opening all combat roles to women last December.

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"The reality is we have transgender service members serving in uniform today," Carter said. "Americans who want to serve and can meet our standards should be afforded the opportunity to do so."

Under previous policy, transgender people were deemed medically unfit for military service.

But a recent study by the RAND Corporation, commissioned by Carter, found that about 2,450 of the military's 1.2 million active-duty members were transgender. It also found that paying their medical costs would be just a tiny sliver of the Pentagon's medical budget and would help prevent substance abuse and suicide.

Carter said the military's rigorous strength and conditioning standards will still apply across the board.

Yet, lifting the ban has reportedly been met with resistance at the highest levels of the military ever since Carter called the policy "outdated" last year and began investigating how it could be reversed.

Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp, public domain