In a first, openly transgender recruit
signs up for U.S. military
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[February 27, 2018]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A transgender
recruit has signed a contract to join the U.S. military for the first
time since a federal court ruled late last year that the military would
have to accept openly transgender people, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Military officials do not know how many transgender people have begun to
enlist since Jan. 1, when the Defense Department began accepting openly
transgender recruits, but this is the first time one has officially
signed a contract to join the military.
"(The Pentagon) confirms that as of February 23, 2018 there is one
transgender individual under contract for service in the US Military,"
Major David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said. The person has signed
a contract but not yet started basic training.
In a move that appealed to his hard-line conservative supporters,
President Donald Trump announced in July that he would prohibit
transgender people from serving in the military, reversing former
President Barack Obama’s policy of accepting them. Trump said on Twitter
at the time that the military “cannot be burdened with the tremendous
medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would
entail.”
A number of federal judges - in Baltimore, Washington, Seattle and
Riverside, California - issued rulings blocking Trump’s ban. The judges
said the ban would likely violate the right under the U.S. Constitution
to equal protection under the law.
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U.S. army soldiers are pictured as they observe "Swift Response
2017" military drill, a part of "Saber Guardian 2017" exercise, at
Bezmer airfield, Bulgaria, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
Late last year, transgender people were allowed for the first time
to enlist in the U.S. military, after the Trump administration
decided not to appeal the rulings.
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis provided his
recommendations to the White House on transgender people serving in
the military.
Advocates have said they believe dozens, if not hundreds, of
transgender people will seek to join an estimated 4,000 already
serving.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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