Penna Dexter

There’s a welcome shift away from the social engineering in the military that drains readiness programs.

The US Army released an official memo stating that “Transgender training is complete across the total Army.”

For two years, the Army has been conducting mandatory transgender integration training at Army bases across the country. Two Obama-era directives necessitated this. One changed military policy as of July 1, 2016 so that an individual could no longer be discharged for being transgender. On July 1, 2017, the military services were scheduled to begin allowing transgender individuals to join the armed forces.

The Army spent time and money preparing leaders to deal with biological men being allowed in women’s showers, gender transition, and even “male” pregnancies. Family Research Council points out, “That’s time our military can never get back.”

The Trump administration looked at these readiness issues and the looming massive price tag for taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries and non-deployability of transgender troops. Based on research presented to him by several members of congress, Secretary of Defense James Mattis recommended the Obama policy be reversed.

The military returned to the pre-2016 policy in which transgender individuals who suffer from gender dysphoria are prohibited from serving in the military. Gender dysphoria is defined as a conflict between an individual’s biological gender and the gender with which they identify. The Pentagon concluded that these individuals “experience significant distress and impairment in social, occupational, and other important areas of functioning.”

There is a carve-out in the policy for transgenders to serve, provided they don’t suffer from gender dysphoria, have been “stable” in their gender for 36 months, and meet requirements for deployability.

The Army’s memo states its training shift is designed to “refocus on soldiers’ ability to fight in combat.” FRC’s Lt. General Jerry Boykin has insisted all along “the military is a fighting force, not a gender clinic.” The new policy faces lawsuits, but it must stand.