The US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter has lifted the Pentagon ban on transgender people serving openly in the United States military.
Carter has introduced a raft of changes to the armed forces with the opening of combat roles for women and the appointment of the first openly gay army secretary.
In historic move, Pentagon lifts ban on transgender troops https://t.co/EYVI2U4mba pic.twitter.com/z80jGAlsAH— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) June 30, 2016
The defence secretary announced the new rule on Thursday:“There are three main reasons having to do with our future force, our current force and matters of principle. The first and fundamental reason is that the Defense Department and the military need to avail ourselves of all talent possible in order to remain what we are now, the finest fighting force the world has ever known.”
Many transgender people already serve in the US army, but previously had to live a secret life in order to avoid being discharged.
The US government lifted the “don’t ask, don’t tell “ policy for gays and lesbians in 2011.
