DADT… What’s Missing

Now that all the celebration has died down over Don’t Ask, Didn’t Tell, it is time to look at the missing part of DADT. I believe that in most of the other NATO countries they allow trans-people to serve openly in the military. I remember reading once a news articles about how in Britain the military were actively recruiting trans-people and in Canada they were discussing when a military trans-person should start wearing the uniform of their true gender. But here in the US we are still throwing out trans-people of the military.

The Next Battle
The question of trans service could be getting a big boost with the focus OutServe has decided to give it
Metro Weeky
by Chris Geidner
Published on January 29, 2012

Jonathan Mills, a staff sergeant in the Air Force, serves as the executive editor of OutServe Magazine. He tells Metro Weekly that ''after the smoke cleared'' from the repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell,'' which took place on Sept. 20, 2011, the ''common sentiment echoed by our staff and members was, 'When are we gonna start pushing the T of LGBT?'"

''At the last editorial board meeting, it was decided this is the time to start focusing on this," Mills says of the planning for the issue about to be published. "Even though this might not be the politically advantageous time to introduce it, it's important for us to do this.''
[…]
Of securing out trans service equality, Keisling [Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality] notes, ''I think there's some reticence from a lot of the groups to bringing this to the Defense Department while they're still working on a lot of things with 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal. But, the Pentagon can do more than one thing at a time, so it's a real shame.''
[…]
Transgender service is not allowed, Bryan [A trans-man that OutServe interviewed for the article] says, for two reasons. ''You can't be transgender and in the military because it's considered a medical disqualification on the basis of the hormones and the surgery. They just assume trans people have 'the surgery.' And then, there's a psychological disqualification because they see it as having gender identity disorder.

There is no law preventing a trans-person from serving in the military, all it will take is a policy decision to allow trans-people to serve in the military. It will not require Congress to pass anything, it will only take the President to write an executive order or the Secretary of Defense to issue an order to bring about the change to bring us up to the level of the rest of the NATO countries.