Chiefs Seek to Block Fully Fit Transgender Applicants from Serving as Army Spends $300 Million to Recruit 6,000 Soldiers
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - June 23, 2017 - In response to today's announcement that Service Chiefs are requesting a 6-month delay in the repeal of the Pentagon's ban on enlistment by transgender applicants seeking to join the military, Palm CenterDirector Aaron Belkin released the following statement:
"Transgender troops have been serving openly and effectively for a year, as predicted by all of the research showing that inclusive policy for LGBT troops promotes readiness.
​"A s​ix-month​ delay of the last piece of inclusive policy, the repeal of the enlistment ban, will only produce redundant evidence about the contributions of transgender service members. Indeed, the Chiefs who are demanding ongoing delay are not bringing any new arguments or new data to the table, but are recycling long-discredited concerns whose only basis is emotion and politics, not data. It is particularly remarkable, as the Army spends an additional $300 million to recruit 6,000 Soldiers this year, that it would seek to turn away Americans who are fit and eager to serve.
"Eighteen foreign militaries including Israel, Britain, Australia and Canada allow transgender personnel to serve, and none have reported any detriment to readiness. Forcing transgender applicants to lie to get into the military is 'don't ask, don't tell' all over again. General Neller, General Milley and the Pentagon's civilian leadership have a responsibility to their troops not to lead us back to that sad era."
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 public policy issues. Our 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<
