Sexuality & military

Military transgender ban set to end next May

Carter ordered a six-month review of the issues surrounding transgender troops with the assumption that they can serve openly unless “objective, practical impediments are identified,” the Aug. 19 memo says. During that period, one of Carter’s chief deputies would have to approve any request to discharge transgender troops.

The memo details a list of issues surrounding the open service of transgender troops, including medical treatment, housing, uniforms and physical fitness standards.

Earlier this month, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine by the Palm Center estimated that it would cost the military $5.6 million per year to treat transgender troops. The center, which studies issues of sexuality and the military, estimated that 188 of the 12,000 transgender troops would seek treatment in any given year.