"If military separation boards decide to allow transgender service members to remain in uniform, commanders can override that decision, according to an Oct. 8 memo to all the services from the Pentagon's undersecretary for personnel and readiness, Anthony Tata. That breaks with longstanding policy that boards act independently. It is the Pentagon's latest step to drive transgender troops out of the armed forces following an executive order from President Donald Trump."
"The new memo, which advocates say was only made available to troops last week, also sets up an additional hurdle of requiring that trans service members appear before separation boards in uniforms that match the gender assigned to them at birth and if they fail to do so, their absence can be used against them. Uniform mandate could keep trans troops away from hearings The policy and specifically the uniform mandate will force a lot of people not to be able to attend their separation board hearings, according to Emily Starbuck Gerson, a spokeswoman for SPARTA Pride, an advocacy group for transgender troops and veterans."
The Pentagon issued a policy allowing commanders to override separation board decisions that would permit transgender service members to remain in uniform. Commanders can reverse independent board rulings and thereby increase discharges of transgender troops. The policy also requires transgender service members to appear before separation boards in the gender assigned at birth; failure to do so can be used against them. The uniform requirement may prevent many transgender personnel from attending hearings. Courts have seen legal challenges to the transgender ban, and the U.S. Supreme Court allowed enforcement of the ban while litigation continues.
Read at www.pilotonline.com
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