The Pros And Cons Of Serving In The Military

Every day, there are American citizens who risk their lives for the sake of their country's safety. Men and women who believe that justice, peace, and equality should be served. However, within their beliefs, some choose to exclude transgender individuals who have the same rights and freedoms. The American society considers the world to be progressively changing and growing, however, seem to forget that in order for the military to survive the 21st century, diversity is crucial. Although the medical costs may raise the overall healthcare median per year, transgender individuals should have the right to serve in the U.S. armed forces because any human being who meets the physical qualifications and has a willing attitude should have the right to serve.

Transgendered persons can potentially lose their position in the military. Although other political leaders disagree with president’s trumps proposal. I disagree with the proposed actions that transgenders should be banned from the military, based on material and nonmaterial components. The terms Heterosexism, cultural relativism, feminist and standpoint theory will be used to support my decision.

Thousands of men and women in this country make the courageous decision to serve in the military. Imagine having the bravery and patriotism to willingly be put into danger in order to protect your country. Many brave, intrepid people, however, are no longer able to make this decision, simply because of their gender identity. On July 26, 2017, President Trump announced a ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military, restricting thousands of possible heroes from willingly defending their country. The ban on transgender service members is an egregiously discriminatory act and should be effaced immediately.

The statistics have shown from the Palm Center’s Report of the Transgender Military Service Commission, that transgender Americans have serviced in the military for years. In addition, transgender are three times more likely to serve in the military than non-transgender. If that is the case, why are transgender people currently prohibited from serving openly, without the fear of disclosures and discharge, as well as, feeling they are treated unequally.

In 2016, former president, Barack Obama lifted the ban of transgenders being in the military. Now the question comes up, should transgender be allowed in the military? This is a very “touchy” topic as when discussed in verbal debates, situations can become pretty heated. Recently, current president, Donald Trump reversed the decision and put the ban back on as he made the announcement on Twitter saying, the military does not need to be “burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgenders in the military would entail.” (Caceres). Several members of the military have voiced their opinions on why they think transgenders should be allowed in with no problem.

Military regulations effectively prohibit service by transgender people. There are two general brackets of regulations that apply to transgender individuals: medical and conduct regulations. Transgender people will be rejected by invocation of medical or psychological rationales (medical regulations), or they may be rejected for behavior that is deemed to reflect negatively on themselves or the military (conduct regulations.) As per medical regulations, transgender individuals may be disqualified from joining the military as a result of any type of genital surgery, since this is an area of assessment and examination during the initial medical evaluation. Medical support necessary for transitioning service member is not provided. If a current transgender service member seeks treatment from civilian healthcare providers, they still must report such treatment to the military. Failure to abide by these regulations will result in criminal prosecution by the military. As per conduct regulations, there are strict regulations for uniform and grooming standards by sex. Any cross-dressing or anything perceived as cross-dressing, even in the context of following medical protocol in advance of full transition, will be considered a violation of military regulations and result in discipline, discharge, or criminal prosecution. However, even if an individual has not had surgery, but identifies as transgender, this

“Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” the President said (Transgender Military Policy). As a result, there has been a widespread backlash by government officials, millennials, and even military servicemen. While this ban has ensured that the frontline military is comprised of the male gender, it has also ensured that there is not variety in the military, one of the largest focuses of the American

Mental Health Issues: The military has strict restrictions on admittance based upon mental health. For example, any presence of a mood disorder that requires medication can be disqualifying. Anxiety issues are also disqualifying for entry into the military. When you consider this alongside the fact that transgender people are at a greater risk, by two to three fold of developing this type of mental disorder, according to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, it makes sense that someone who had a predisposition already to developing a mental illness wouldn’t make a good soldier.

The United States military should not discriminate against a person’s race, religion, gender, or nationality when recruiting for new members. As long as they are able bodied and can provide the necessary skill set in order to get the job done, they should have the opportunity to join and remain in our nation’s armed forces without any form of discrimination. This would include those who are transgender and who are part of the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ means lesbian, gay, transgender, and queer. Transgender individuals have been serving in the military since the Civil War in 1861 (Paul 1). Along with the United States, other countries such as Israel, France, and Germany have allowed transgender individuals to serve in the military. Around 150,000 transgender soldiers have served in the military over the past years and are currently serving in the military. However, President Donald Trump tweeted a couple of months ago that he requested to ban all transgender people from joining the military. In the tweet he said, “...the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military” (Latifi 1). He also does not want to give out medical treatment to transgender soldiers in the military (Diamond 1). According to Donald Trump, members of the transgender community do not belong to the military. Transgender individuals should be allowed to be in the military and have the medical treatment they need from serving in the military. People in the transgender community should have the same rights as others when it comes to joining the military because some have the skill set and experience that would play a pivotal role in our nation’s military to protect our country like the other men and women currently serving in the United States armed forces.

Before September 2010, there was a public policy that prohibited the gays and lesbians from being employed in the US armed forces. At the same time, a public policy was enacted that required soldiers hide their sexual orientation from the public. The policies for a long time have encouraged discrimination against the gay community. If the federal government denies a US citizen an opportunity to serve in the armed force based on his or her sexual orientation, the society also capitalizes on such policies to discriminate against the group.

Though the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) on September 20, 2011, marked the end of discrimination based on sexual orientation, it did not address transgender orientation. Per Army Regulation 40-501, individuals are considered medically unfit for service if they have a history of gender identity disorder (no longer a politically correct term, since replaced by gender dysphoria). Military policy prohibits transgender service members (TSM) from openly serving in the military or enlisting. However, this policy has been under review ever since Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter ordered that a working group be created to determine if lifting the ban would have any impact on the military readiness. Allowing TSM to serve openly will impact every aspect of military life, from showering to housing, uniforms to identification, and it will impact female Soldiers significantly and disproportionately more than male Soldiers. Serving in the military is not a right, it is a privilege. No one has offered any military or national security reason why we need to allow transgender persons in the military. It is my recommendation that current military policy be maintained.

President Trump has an unfair ban on accepting transgendered people to serve in any position in the United States military. This leaves thousands of able bodied militants unsure of their positions within the military. Transgendered military should be allowed to openly serve in the military as long as they are capable of it.

There are too many macro issues that are happening now in the USA. As we all know with the new government a lot of changes are going on right now. One of those issues is that “transgender people can’t serve in military”. On July 26, 2017, the new president announced the government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military (Wamsley, 2017). Many people agreed with the decision and according to Wamsley, 2017, republican Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that “the Department of Defense has already decided to allow currently-serving transgender individuals to stay in the military, and many are serving honorable today. Any American

In a country that oozes the idea of freedom, should you be forced to serve in order to protect that freedom? Mandatory military service shouldn’t be brought upon for discussion in this country. Mandatory military service contradicts our free will , and is extremely unconstitutional. In today’s modern age, a bulk of physical combat can be done using technology such as drones, aircraft, land vehicles, and to an extent, missile bombs. Forced service can negatively impact today’s military as production of equipment to an extreme amount of soldiers, can either lead to inferior equipment or shortages of equipment. Drafting or forcing individuals who have no desire to serve in the military can lead to combat ineffectiveness, which can lead to negative casualties. A modern day draft would be especially useless, due to our nation’s defense budget. We have the numbers as well as the technology to fight any war we can, without the use of a draft or mandatory service.

People seem to think that being the child of someone in the military is a great one but it definitely has its downfalls. From personal experience being an army brat has a lot of difficulties that no one has a say in. I can honestly say the military has taken my dad away from me in multiple occasions growing up. Being a military child means that your mom or dad is going to miss a lot of important events, be prepared to move several times, and know that they’re never going to be traveling a lot.