ADAdvocates estimate that transgender troops number close to 15,000. ADThe transgender military community celebrated the policy changes, and some advocates have heard that transgender people are already contacting recruiters to enlist, said Air Force Lt. Col. Bree Fram, the highest-ranking openly transgender officer in the Defense Department. The Trump-era restrictions allowed transgender troops to serve only if they had not been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, had not transitioned their sex and did not need to, and could meet standards for their gender assigned at birth, including for grooming and uniforms. Gender dysphoria is distress caused by a mismatch between one’s sex-based gender assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. The Trump-era regulations amounted effectively to a ban on transgender troops, according to advocates and activists, who have argued that deepening the enlistment pool to transgender people will help solve the military’s perennial challenges to attract enough recruits.

Source: Washington Post March 31, 2021 20:12 UTC