U.S. Army Takes Historic Step on Transgender Troops

Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center, and Leading Expert on the Issue, is Available for Comment on New U.S. Army Policy

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 6, 2015 – Today, the U.S. Army took an official and historic step by elevating responsibility for approving discharges of transgender Soldiers to an Assistant Secretary of the Army. The action follows a February 16 USA Today story quoting Aaron Belkin of the Palm Center about a draft version of the policy that became official today.

Palm Center Director Aaron Belkin offered the following quote in response to today's news:

"This is a welcome step toward inclusive policy, but transgender troops must still live a lie. Although Army discharges now require the approval of a senior civilian official, transgender personnel are prohibited from serving, and all eyes are on the Secretary of Defense, awaiting his order to review the ban."

Last year, the Palm Center released a study, "Report of the Planning Commission on Transgender Military Service," which found that allowing transgender personnel to serve in the military "is administratively feasible and will not be burdensome or complicated". The study, which was co-Chaired by a former acting U.S. Army Surgeon General, provided a detailed roadmap for the policy change. A group of retired General Officers concluded on the basis of the study that implementation could proceed immediately and will be successful in its execution. Currently, 18 foreign nations including the United Kingdom and Israel allow transgender personnel to serve openly in the military.

About The Palm Center

The Palm Center is an independent research institute committed to sponsoring state-of-the-art scholarship to enhance the quality of public dialogue about critical and controversial issues of the day.

For the past decade, the Palm Center's research on sexual minorities in the military has been published in leading social scientific journals. The Palm Center seeks to be a resource for university-affiliated as well as independent scholars, students, journalists, opinion leaders, and members of the public. For more information, see www.palmcenter.org