Transgender Service Members Earlier this year, The Secretary of Defense issued a memorandum stating transgender service members will be allowed to openly serve in the military and the government will be implementing a policy to help these service members begin their transition. It is 2016 and American society has made tremendous leaps regarding the acceptance of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Throughout the last 15 years America has been at war, there have been scores of service members belonging to this community that have served bravely and have shown true heroism. There is no debate that these service members can perform the daily duties associated with their job. For Instance, SSG Patricia King …show more content…
These claims were determined to be unwarranted and there was no evidence implying they were unfit for duty mentally or physically (Ross). Studies done by the Canadian government also found there to be no evidence of poor cohesion, moral and effectiveness due to Transgender members of their military (Okrose, Scott 244). Ultimately, The Department of Defense realized there were Transgender service members currently in the military and there was no medical reason to disqualify them. According to the William Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles there is an estimated 15,000 active duty service members and around 175,000 reserve military members that identify as being transgender (Dietert and Dentice 2). On the Other hand, with the DOD implementing this new policy that will pay for a transition surgery and its recovery process, it greatly effects the readiness and effectiveness of the military. These surgeries are quite expensive and take anywhere from six months to several years to recover from. This makes the service member unable to train and perform their …show more content…
Furthermore, The civil rights of even one person in The United States of America are more important than the moral views of thousands. Traditionally, the United States’ core values express freedom and stress opportunity for all people, including those who identify as transgender. If someone is willing, able and can meet all physical requirements established by the military, they should rightfully and lawfully be allowed to serve. A statement given by the Department of Defense in January 2013 shortly after the discussion of allowing women to serve in combat stated, "We are fully committed to removing as many barriers as possible to joining, advancing, and succeeding in the U.S. Armed Forces. Success in our military based solely on ability, qualifications, and performance is consistent with our values and enhances military readiness” (Ross). The Department of Defense answered several questions that warranted a response regarding the new policy allowing Transgender Claimants to serve and accepted the responsibility of providing medical care during and after their transition. There has been
CF02,Full Range Leadership Development. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
No matter how important our troops are to the people of America, President Obama is cutting the benefits for our military veterans. ”President Obama put his signature on the two-year budget bill, which includes a contentious provision to pare down annual cost of living increases in benefits for military retirees under age 62, saving the government an estimated $6.3 billion over a decade”(lawmakers, veterans groups push to restore military benefits 1).
Veterans have struggles with their civilian life after separating from the U.S Armed Forces. Returning to the civilian life seem to be a big challenge for veterans who have no prior job’s skills for civilian life because they had been influenced from military’s training, have physical and psychological damage.
Ineligible for American Legion membership, however, remain the many men and women who had answered our nation’s call while American military forces were not actively engaging an enemy of the United States. Serving with valor and distinction, these members of the armed forces have guarded America’s shores and protected the nation’s strategic assets at U.S. military bases across the world. They have been on the front lines of American efforts to mediate conflicts between warring factions in Europe, Asia and Africa. And they, too, have been prime targets for armed aggressors, terrorist attacks and saboteurs. The question is: have these veterans not earned the right to membership in the American Legion as well?
... The General Accounting Office concluded in a hearing on May 8th 1999 that combat inclusion is the greatest impediment to women attaining higher military rank. Until qualified women are given access to assignments that are central to the militaries mission, they will be marginalized. Sexual harassment is a huge problem
"Update: Women in the Military." Issues and Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 29 May 2007. Web.
We can identify three major cultural dimensions that help us to understand what leaders must focus on as they guide the transition of the Army. First, professional Identity, which is guided by Soldiers at all levels who are striving for excellence in their functional specialty, i.e., HR Sergeants. Soldiers who have goals and ideals of the Army to ethically put service and duty first. HR Sergeants are trained and well educated in their field. They are taught to put Soldiers first and have great customer support skills. Second, community, the sense in which Soldiers stop thinking about “I” and start thinking “we”. The bond among units who not only believe in cohesion with Soldiers, but their families too. The HR Sergeants are there to take care of Soldiers when financial issues arise with them or their families and don’t back down until the situation is solved. Last, hierarchy, which leads to order and control and provides Soldiers with moral reference and a sense of direction. The HR Sergeant has the mentality of mission first, knowing who to contact at the next level for assistance helps get the mission
This imposes problems on the military and even on the government. One article states that, “Reduced budgets and the threat of sequestration create a sense of uneasiness in the ranks, and those fears are fueled by politicians willing to shut down the federal government rather than compromise.” (Army Magazine) This is because with the increase of budget cuts they start to cause problems for the ones who are working and this creates lost jobs in the military. No one wants to lose their job not even the ones that have put forth a great amount of time and effort in the military. For the ones that have been in the military for a long period of time this can actually have negative effects on their life style and even cause problems when returning
There is an every growing need for college graduates that need government benefits. There are a surplus of able body men and woman looking for a career or a chance to better their life’s using the benefits provide by the Mandatory Military Services Act as a catalyst to improve the standard of living for each citizen. By having experience that will transience to the job market, with the job market being flooded with highly train workers with military background the overall productivity will greatly improve. (Ruschmann
Prior to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy the United States and its citizens were not very tolerant to openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals. Prior to World War II gays were not specifically targeted for exclusion from the military, although sodomy was considered a criminal offense as early as the Revolutionary War. However by the beginning of World War II, the military had shifted focus from excluding acts that were considered homosexual to focusing on members that were considered homosexual. In 1942, the military issued its first regulation that contained a paragraph defining the difference between a homosexual and a normal person. In fact, this regulation also described procedures for rejecting gay draftees. (Martinez, Hebl, & Law, 2012). The military based these procedures on medical rationale and psychiatric screening to...
Early April 2016, North Carolina passed a law restricting governments from passing laws that are discriminatory. This law is intended to protect Transgender people from discrimination. Discrimination against Transgenders is against the law, and it has stirred up arguments throughout the nation. With more and more people standing up against discrimination regarding Transgenders, the debate about Transgenders is now nationwide. Unfortunately, Transgenders still continue to face public discrimination due to misinformation and misleading statements from the media.
Humans have established their own rights in society for many, many years now. However, because some humans differ from the norms that are built in society, they are shunned and denied their rights until they conform to society’s norms. There have been numerous groups of people who have been denied their rights in America. African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, and gays have been isolated simply because that is the way they were born into this world and others do not find them “normal”. There is another group that has also been mistreated though: people who identify themselves as transgender.
Since the creation of the Selective Service Act of 1917, the role of a woman has evolved from the common role of a housewife, teacher or nurse. Now women have access to and are equally able to join many different career fields that were once gender based. The case Rostker v Goldberg 1981 debated whether or not women should be excluded from the Selective Service Act. Congress came to determine that “since women are excluded from combat roles in the Armed Forces, then they are not similarly situated for the purpose of the draft (Rostker, 1981)”. According to the Army Times in 2012, “The Army will start placing women in as many as 14,000 combat related jobs (Tan, 2012)”. So now, women are able to pursue combative careers in the military.
In the first twelve months, a person can expect to receive, after possibly paying a negligible fee, eligibility for the Montgomery GI Bill or the Post 9-11 GI Bill for education benefits, completely removing most, if not all, of the monetary responsibility from the individual (Official GI Bill Website). Not to mention, while they are on active duty there are tuition benefits that may pay for most, if not all, of one’s active duty education. No matter what an individual or his/her family’s financial status, additional funding can only prove beneficial. In fact, it lends the individual integrity as he/she has taken responsibility for their own education, effectively taking the pressure off of their families. It won’t become a financial burden on the government because not everyone will be in the military at the same time. Further still, the people enlisted mandatorily will be discharged after, no longer than, four years. This leaves room for those who enlisted voluntarily to continue on merrily in their military careers.
they got away with it the day prior. Even though it’s a violation of Army Regulation