Two years after a string of presidential tweets set a ban on transgender military service in motion, fifteen months after the former secretary of defense backfilled an after-the-fact justification for those tweets, and two months after the ban took effect, the Department of Defense has now conceded that the ban works by treating transgender people […]

Here is a column from Just Security that lists questions defense reporters would like to ask about transgender policy, for example: “The U.S. military currently has 14,000 transgender troops serving openly. Has their service had any negative consequences on the military’s readiness or morale?” Patrick Shanahan led the Pentagon group that was assigned to clean […]

It became clear yesterday that Army leadership intends to backfill hypothetical justifications for DOD’s new transgender ban without evidence, following in the footsteps of former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who did the same thing in an effort to “fix” President Trump’s tweeted ban. General James McConville is the nominee to become the next Chief […]

Don’t be fooled by today’s Washington Post article written by faculty from the U.S. Naval Academy and Dartmouth College, entitled “What do military service members think about diversity — especially gender diversity — in their ranks?” It is pitched as relevant to the transgender military policy debate, but it has NOTHING to do with it. […]

We’re seeing media headlines suggesting National Guard defiance of the Pentagon’s transgender ban, along the lines of “Five States Say They’ll Let Trans Troops Serve in National Guard.” But the headlines don’t quite get the story right. There is no defiance going on.  Guard leaders are saying they will use the discretion given under the […]

One interesting piece of information in this report is that the Army plans to hand out new dandy uniforms only after completion of basic training and initial specialty training. Why? Because during that period—measured in months—15% of enlistees drop out.  (On average, approximately one-third of enlistees fail to complete their initial term.)  But by all means, […]

There ought to be some rational explanation for why Map Pesqueira, a transgender cadet already enrolled in ROTC, was dismissed despite DOD’s promise to protect people currently in officer training from the ban. But there isn’t a rational explanation. The ROTC policy failed, and DOD is holding firm in refusing to explain (or simply not […]

  The transgender ban started injuring people so fast.  Why? Because, from DOD’s perspective, it doesn’t need to consider the accomplishments and potential that earned this cadet a military scholarship at a top national university.  It doesn’t need to consider whether he is a strong performer in ROTC. It doesn’t need to consider whether gender […]