Pentagon delaying transgender enrollment decision until 2018
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is giving the military chiefs another six months before they begin allowing transgender individuals to enlist in the armed services.
Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White says Mattis made the decision Friday.
A Mattis memo obtained by The Associated Press says he wanted to give the services time to ensure the change won't affect the readiness and lethality of the force.
His decision endorses an agreement hammered out last week by the military service leaders. That plan rejected Army and Air Force requests for a two-year wait and reflected the broader worry that a longer delay would trigger criticism on Capitol Hill.
Transgender service members have been able to serve openly in the military since last year, but not allowed to enlist as new recruits. Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2016 lifted the ban on transgender individuals in the military, but he gave the services until July 1 to develop policies to allow people already identifying as transgender to newly join the military, if they meet physical, medical and other standards, and have been stable in their identified genders for 18 months. The military chiefs had said they needed time to study the issue and its effects on the readiness of the force before taking that step.
Last week, military chiefs sought more time o implement , said the extra time would give the four military services time to gauge if currently serving transgender troops are facing problems and what necessary changes the military bases might have to make.
