That means an effective ban on new openly transgender personnel and on payment for treatment for those already in the armed forces. Trump last month deployed a series of tweets that called into question an Obama-era policy of allowing transgender troops to serve openly. Several senior military officials had voiced unease over the policy shift, with the head of the Coast Guard saying he would not "break faith" with transgender personnel. He said there were 13 Coast Guard members who have come out as transgender, noting "all of them are doing meaningful Coast Guard work today." Trump has said he did the Pentagon a "great favor" by banning transgender troops, saying the issue had been "complicated" and "confusing" for the military.

Source: The Nation Bangkok August 25, 2017 22:52 UTC