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Hagel: US military transgender prohibition 'should be reviewed' Hagel open to review of US military ban on transgender individuals
(about 2 hours later)
The prohibition on transgender people serving in the US military "continually should be reviewed", Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Sunday. The defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, on Sunday opened the door to a review of the US military’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the armed forces, saying that “this is an area we have not defined enough”.
Hagel did not indicate whether he believes the policy should be overturned. However, he said: "Every qualified American who wants to serve our country should have an opportunity if they fit the qualifications and can do it." The US military has come under mounting criticism in recent months for its ongoing prohibition on transgender personnel. The department of defence instructs military recruiters to reject anyone with a “history of major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia including but not limited to change of sex”, and categorises anyone in that position as having a “psychosexual condition”.
A panel convened by a thinktank at San Francisco State University recently estimated that about 15,450 transgender personnel serve in the military and in the National Guard and Reserve. Hagel’s comments, made on ABC's This Week, suggest that the Pentagon is inching towards a reconsideration of the issue.
In 2010, Congress passed legislation allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. Hagel said the issue of transgender people serving in the military was more complicated. He said "these issues require medical attention" that at times could not be provided in austere locations. He said: "I'm open to those assessments, because … every qualified American who wants to serve our country should have an opportunity if they fit the qualifications and can do it.”
The National Center for Transgender Equality said it welcomed Hagel's comments, which were made on ABC's This Week. The organisation's executive director, Mara Keisling, said the regulations that disqualify transgender recruits and service members are based on outdated prejudices and stereotypes. Hagel made clear that change will not come immediately, if at all. He said the military’s position regarding transgender people was “a bit more complicated because it has a medical component – these issues require medical attention”.
"If the secretary were able to meet and talk with the trans service members I've met, he'd understand the answer is self-evident. These are amazing people who serve even though they must hide a basic part of who they are," Keisling said. He added: “Austere locations where we put our men and women in many cases don’t always provide that kind of opportunity.”
Spart*a, an advocacy group made up of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people who now serve or once served in the military, said a review was long overdue. Relations between the US armed forces and the LGBT community have improved markedly since the military's policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” was lifted, in 2010. But while gays and lesbians can now serve openly in the army, navy and air force, transgender individuals cannot.
"Many of our allies, including the UK, Australia and Israel, allow transgender people to serve with pride and honour in their armed forces. It's time for the US to join them," said Allyson Robinson, the group's policy director and a former army captain. The ban earned the US a relatively low ranking – 40th out of 103 countries – in a recent comparison of armed forces around the world, in terms of how they include LGBT service members.
A military review of transgender issues could occur, as it would also deal with questions about how to treat transgender prisoners. On Sunday, groups pushing for transgender equality in the US military said it was time the prohibition was overturned.
Chelsea Manning, a former army private serving a 35-year prison sentence for providing classified documents to the WikiLeaks organisation, is fighting to be treated as a woman. She is seeking a counselor who specialises in gender issues and also wants to get hormone replacement therapy, which the military has said it does not provide. Allyson Robinson, a former army captain who campaigns with the LGBT military community Spart*a, which has about 170 transgender members, told the Associated Press: “Many of our allies, including the UK, Australia and Israel, allow transgender people to serve with pride and honour in their armed forces. It's time for the US to join them.”
The transgender issue has been given prominence by the widely publicised case of Chelsea Manning, the army private who was the source of the giant cache of WikiLeaks documents.
Manning, who was formerly known as Bradley Manning, was last month allowed by a court in Kansas to legally change her name.
Her commanders, however, are still refusing to give her access to medical treatment for transition, and she is serving a 35-year sentence in a male military prison in Fort Leavenworth.
In a statement put out through her supporters at the time of her name change, Manning said: “I’m optimistic that things can –and certainly will – change for the better.
“There are so many people in America today that are willing and open to discuss trans-related issues.”