Pentagon ends ban on transgender troops in military

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon will let transgender individuals serve openly in the U.S. military, ending one of the last bans on service in the armed forces.

Defence Secretary Ash Carter announced the change Thursday. Carter says it’s the right thing to do. He says only a person’s qualifications should matter, and that there should be no other unrelated barriers to service.

Carter’s announcement comes despite concerns from senior military leaders that the department is moving too fast and that more time is needed to work through the changes.

The changes will be phased in over a year. But by October 1, transgender troops should be able to receive medical care and begin formally changing their gender identification in the Pentagon’s personnel system.

Local transgender man Mikhal Ferr says that he is excited at the announcement, but is slightly confused and concerned that there was even a ban to be lifted in the first place.

“People often think, ‘oh, transgender people are just popping up everywhere, where did they come from?’ ” says Ferr. “The thing is, we’ve always been here. Since the beginning of time, it’s just, we were afraid to come out until now and finally we are getting rights which is incredible. I am really looking forward to seeing more changes.”

Ferr is happy overall with the treatment of transgender individuals in the region and Canada as a whole, but is happy to hear this announcement come from the U.S., as both countries still have improvements to be made, including health coverage for hormone treatments, and education for the public and school-aged children.