Should Transgenders be Allowed in the Military

The United States military is sacred to the American soldier. For the past 300 years, millions of men have fought for the freedom of his native land and people. The freedom to speak, to practice religious services, and to live. But does the freedom to live mean to live how you want? Does that imply the civilians that have altered their bodies? Transgender equality has become a booming political topic and, quite frankly, a racial issue. The question has arised, Should Transgenders be allowed to serve in the military?. A person truly concerned about the safety and freedom of their country would agree that transgenders should have a spot in any branch of the army. Secondly, to the people who think they-transgenders- are not strong enough or do not a have the will power, look how hard they fight now! The LGBT community is currently fighting for same rights heterosexuals possess. They fight for the same rights handed to them before they decided to be different. They fight for equality. Transgenders endure systematic discrimination, harassment, and hate crimes. In 2017, a sum of 25 transgenders were murdered because of who they were, but that had yet to halt the raging battle within them (Nazish, Noma). Tell me, can you be in a war zone, watch your partner die, and still be able to fight? If not, then why are you against someone else taking your spot? Aristotle said it himself, The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. (Equality Quotes). Transgenders are currently fighting for their right to serve, and their war has yet to relinquish. Maybe this will open your eyes, they fight to have the ability to protect the people that are so hell bent on erasing them. So why are we not letting them serve? Is it because society has stereotyped the LGBT community into a warped vision that accumulates only the thought of difference, or is it simply because society does not agree with their way of life? Despite our nation's distaste for trannys on June 30, 2016 the Pentagon dispersed the ban President Trump had instilled March 2016. The Pentagon acknowledged that ...it is in the military's best interest to recruit and retain the best troops, regardless of their gender identity. (Human Rights Campaign). If the Pentagon sees no wrong in the gender identity of the military, why do we? According to TransEquality, 18 percent of the 27,715 people surveyed have served. To put that into perspective, that is close to 5,000 soldiers! TransEquality admitted that the survey was not accurate for the main fact that there was a ban of transgenders in the military during their survey; therefore, there was a substantial amount of soldiers unaccounted for! Even more so, 60 percent of the veterans that served within a 10-year period were eager to rejoin under the conditions that transgenders were allowed to as well. Allyson Robinson, an American rights activist for the LGBT community, stated We have strong statistical evidence that shows that transgender people are twice as likely as their fellow citizen to joined the military, to have served the military. (Google Search). Let's break that down; there are more transgender citizens willing to serve our country than the people that do not want them serve. The average cost to train a serviceman is around $20,000. That just covers the basics. A serviceman who has gained ranks will cost more. The highest being Army War College which costs a staggering $323,036 per person. Even then, that is for basic training of the highest rank. If a serviceman were to specialize in a particular field, the cost could be endless. For example, the average expense for the training of an F-22 fighter pilot is $12.5 million (Maucione, Scott). Seeing the amount of money poured into the average soldier, can we assume finances are not a reason? Wrong. President Trump tweeted, After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical cost and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you. (Google Search). Yes, when you enlist in the military your medical needs are paid for no matter the cost. Currently, the United States Military forks out approximately $6 billion in health care each year. A 2016 study performed by RAND indicated that it would cost the US anywhere between $2.4 million to $8.4 million to accommodate transgender healthcare expense (Maucione, Scott). That sounds like a big number, but compare it to the $6 billion already being used for medical expenses. Belkin also participated in a study and had this to say, The provision of transition-related care will cost the military $5.6 million annually, or 22 cents per [military] member per month.(Maurione, Scott) Federal News Network added that the transitions can be completed through $30 monthly injections. As a taxpayer, I am willing to give 22 cents and even $30 a month, so a soldier can fight my battles. Furthermore, if transgenders were banned from the military, think of the mountain of currency thrown down the drain from previous employment. Sue Fulton, president of SPARTA, vocalized, Just within SPARTA, we have academy graduates who have gone through Annapolis or West Point. That is hundreds of thousands of dollars in leadership training, and they are leading units today or are flying aircraft. Quantifying the training they got just through the academies is several hundred thousand dollars, and then follow on training to train an officer in their specialty varies depending on what their specialty is. If you're talking about someone who goes on Ranger School or has pilot training os is an intel officer, again you are running into hundreds of thousands of dollars. We have folks who are military physicians who went to medical school who are currently serving the Army playing critical roles.(Maurione, Scott). This could not have been said any better. The US military would have to find other personnel to take over their spots, spend even more money training them, and they would lose soldiers! Meet Blake M. Dremann, and active duty Navy Lieutenant from St. Louis, Missouri. Lt. Cmdr. Dremann has served in 11 deployments and is a decorated soldier obtaining the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (SpartaPride). Blake is also transgender. Despite that, the military paid for his attendance at Supply Corps Basic Qualification Course, Anti-Terrorism Officer School, Helicopter Controll Officer School, Basic and Intermediate Leadership schools, Submarine Officer Basic course and Joint Professional Military Education (Maurione, Scott). Should the US military leave all of that talent and training to waste. Not to mention that funds that had to be shelled out for his attendance. In conclusion, any soldier is a brave soldier. Their gender does not define their courage. The people that fight against them have yet to serve themselves. The military needs more soldiers, and if you do not wish to sign up, why do you not want a transgender to? They are bravely taking your spot on the lines. They are willing to risk their lives to keep you safe and to be able to think negatively of them. Does that not sound immature? Maybe a little ungrateful? All in all, it is our personal preference if we should allow transgenders to be in the military. This essays primary goal was to shine light on the financial status on transgender enlistment since we all can agree: money is always an issue. But is it now? You decide

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