Transgender have a high rate of suicide and many suffer with PTSD. Do you think it is a good idea to send someone to war that already has a high risk of mental breakdown?
Have we already forgotten that one of the biggest security breaches in American history was committed by a transgender man Bradley (Chelsee) Manning? And when he did it he didn't even try to hide he was the one leaking the info to Wiki Leaks. Many people were confused as to why he would be so open about it. Why did he do it? You could argue it was because of a mental breakdown.
If someone is transgender and taking the meds to change gender, then that should make them ineligible. Just like how people who take meds for diabetes, high blood pressure, or any number of reasons. You can't have flat feet and join the military. If they are in combat and taking meds it can be dangerous if they are unable to keep getting their meds. They have to go through medical and behavioral health to transition. If a soldier who is in transition, then they would be denied serving in combat, so let's say 1 or 10 soldiers were transitioning, that means a unit just lost up to 10 soldiers for deployment and that hurts readiness.
And what is readiness? If a soilder has a broken leg, diagnosed with anxiety, diagnosed with depression, has a sleep disorder, then they aren't combat ready. On top of that someone that is transitioning will have routine medical visits which disrupts training cycles and puts more burden on others. The surgery is the smallest cost. It's the intangables, it's the time lost, it's the disruptions in the daily routine, in the risk of degradation of combat effectivness. It's the extra burden put on leaders at all levels, the extra PC and feelings training and hours of corporate office type lectures forced upon the members of the military.
The Military dosen't have the same rights, standards, or even freedoms the average American citizen has and for good reason It is built to fight and win wars.
Obama didn't make this change to allow transgenders until the last 2 months of his administration. It wasn't important to him for 8 years. He did this just to cause issues for Trump to deal with.
And don't give me any crap about the military paying for Viagra. Men who need Viagra most often is due to other major heath issues like diabetes, heart disease, prostate issues, and cancer. Would you really deny helping a solider who suffered from a disease? The military is always looking to save money, but at the same time they want to offer benefits that help the most people. There are only 6000 to 15000 transgenders in the military compared to the larger number of men that suffer from ED. By cutting transgenders they save money an affect the least amount of people.
Trump said this decision was based on the advise of the generals and other military leaders. I will trust them over the PC crowd.
Finally, we are taking about making special accommodations for less than 1% of the entire military. The military is not a social experiment. It is a fighting force to fight wars and keep peace.
Finally, I'd like to add that I would consider allowing a transgender person in the military if they have successfully transitioned and can show fitness to serve. But this needs more research.
(Some of my comments are made by and direct quotes from some of my military friends, but I don't want to involve them in my post. I don't feel it is fair to involve them directly with this post to cause them any issue of backlash. But know my view is based in part on their insight and feedback.)
