With news headlines worldwide proclaiming the newly announced and soon-to-be administered policies regarding transgender individuals and their limitations on joining the military service, it's time to have an honest discussion about the policies at hand.
What does past policy reflect? What does this mean for those already serving? What can we expect from these limitations? What does it all even mean?
From a social policy perspective, let's take a look. Experienced with social policy? Great! If not, watch for the italicized interpretations.
Recent Policy Timelines
Remember the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in 2011? Shortly after its abolition, military leaders, including Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, began openly questioning the bans regarding transgender service members and the reasons behind the current policies. Prior to 2016, the DoD (Department of Defense) stated that all individuals who identified as transgender or had a "current or history of psychosexual conditions, including but not limited to transsexualism, exhibitionism, transvestism, voyeurism, and other paraphilias," were prohibited the appointment, enlistment, or induction into the military.
Before 2015, transgender individuals were unable to join the military and would be discharged if found to be transgender while serving. Also, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was a discrimination policy, much like the proposed 2017 repeal policy.
In July 2015, the past Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, announced that the DoD would review its policies on transgender service; the goal being the creation of a committee, comprised of both military and civilian personnel, to study the policy and readiness implications of allowing transgender persons to serve openly. This committee would also look into both the positive and negative balances of military readiness and deployability with transgender service members.
To break it down; in 2015, the DoD wanted to double-check the reasons for the original policies in place that limited the enlistment of transgender individuals.
In 2016, the Obama Administration enacted the policy that allowed transgender individuals to openly enlist and serve in all facets of the DoD, a triumph for social policy in a progressing military. The Administration recognized that regardless of past policies, transgender service members had deployed in all branches, served overseas in numerous campaigns, and fought for freedoms that they had been denied up until the enacted policy.
2016 was a time of major triumph for transgender service members, who were now openly able to serve while identifying as transgender.
The Current Argument
When battles raged during 2015 and early 2016 within the DOD, policies supporting transgender service members fought uphill against the argument that the medical needs of transgender service members would impact military readiness and deployability (CRS Insights, 2015). However, it's important to note that all transgender individuals have widely varying needs when it comes to medical care.
As we all saw today during the press releases and news headlines, the new policies suggested are overturning the 2016 policy regarding admittance of transgender individuals. While we still wait to see the written and developed policies regarding the "ban," we must keep in mind how we can best serve the current population under fire.
The Williams Institute estimates the number of current DoD service members who identify as transgender at 15,500, including Active duty, National Guard, and Reserve components. With this estimation, we must think of these 15,500 individuals and the facets of the military they are already serving in. Has their gender identification in any way influenced their ability to serve?
In The Coming Days
As social policy regarding the restriction of transgender service members continues to form over the coming days, I encourage you to further understand the impacts that the social policy will have.
While many people form opinions off bold statements and simple facts in headlines, it is important to fall back into academia and learn the actual impacts to human rights that come from social policy. Understand the timelines of social policy, and begin to delve further into the underlying ideas. Develop your opinions based off of this knowledge, and your discussions will be more fruitful to both your argument and those in contrast.
Discussion
In closing, I leave you with these discussion questions for future conversations.
-Do you believe the right to serve your country extends to all members of the nation? Why?
-What do you know/what do you not know about social policies that could help better form your arguments?
-Has your gender identification in any way influenced your ability to do your current job? How?