Military policy on transgender service members will remain unchanged, says top general

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 13, 2017. | Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein

A top military official has stated that there will be no changes to the current policy on transgender service members until President Donald Trump issues guidance to the Pentagon.

In a surprise tweet on Wednesday, Trump announced that the Pentagon will no longer allow transgender individuals to serve openly in the U.S. Armed Forces, citing "tremendous medical costs and disruption." The president stated that the decision came after he consulted with military commanders and experts.

However, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, Jr. issued a memo to service chiefs and commanders on Thursday, saying there will be no changes to the policy until "the President's direction has been received by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued implementation guidance."

"In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect," Dunford wrote, according to Fox News.

"As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions," he added.

Trump's announcement drew criticisms from civil liberty and LGBTQ groups as well as from three senior officers interviewed by Reuters on Thursday.

"I hope our commander in chief understands that we don't transmit orders via Twitter, and that he can't, either," one officer told Reuters by phone, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

"Even if this were an order, implementing it legally would take considerable time, if it's even possible," the officer added.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), said that Trump is "calling for a witch hunt & purge of 15,000 trans military Americans."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders stated that the implementation of Trump's announcement is still being worked out.

Transgender individuals were allowed to serve openly in the military since last year under a policy enacted under the Obama administration.

While the policy allowed transgenders to serve openly, Obama had delayed the implementation of allowing them to enlist until July 1, 2017. On June 30, Secretary of Defense James Mattis approved a request to delay the implementation of the policy and set the new deadline for Jan. 1, 2018.

The independent Rand Corporation has estimated that there are about 4,000 transgenders currently serving in the military, but some campaigners put the figure higher than 10,000. The corporation has predicted that the inclusion of transgender individuals in the military would lead to a 0.13 percent increase in health care spending, which would amount to approximately $8.4 million.