The Department of Defense has received the Presidential
Memorandum, dated August 25, 2017, entitled “Military Service by Transgender
Individuals.” The department will carry
out the president’s policy direction, in consultation with the Department of
Homeland Security. As directed, we will
develop a study and implementation plan, which will contain the steps that will
promote military readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion, with due regard for budgetary
constraints and consistent with applicable law.
The soon arriving senior civilian leadership of DOD will play an
important role in this effort. The
implementation plan will address accessions of transgender individuals and
transgender individuals currently serving in the United States military.
Our focus must always be on what is best for the military’s
combat effectiveness leading to victory on the battlefield. To that end, I will establish a panel of
experts serving within the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to
provide advice and recommendations on the implementation of the president’s
direction. Panel members will bring
mature experience, most notably in combat and deployed operations, and seasoned
judgment to this task. The panel will
assemble and thoroughly analyze all pertinent data, quantifiable and
non-quantifiable. Further information on
the panel will be forthcoming.
Once the panel reports its recommendations and following my
consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice
to the president concerning implementation of his policy direction. In the interim, current policy with respect
to currently serving members will remain in place. I expect to issue interim guidance to the
force concerning the president’s direction, including any necessary interim
adjustments to procedures, to ensure the continued combat readiness of the
force until our final policy on this subject is issued.
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