Hagel did not indicate whether he believes the policy should be overturned. However, he said "every qualified American who wants to serve our country should have an opportunity if they fit the qualifications and can do it."
A panel convened by a think tank at San Francisco State University recently estimated that about 15,450 transgender personnel serve in the military and in the National Guard and Reserve.
But its not going to be easy especially since most of enlisted common areas are communal more than likely making sexual reassignment surgery a prerequisite.
In 2010, Congress passed legislation allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly. Hagel said the issue of transgender serving in the military is more complicated. He said "these issues require medical attention" that at times cannot be provided in austere locations.
ABC US News | ABC Entertainment News
I served on mountain tops and lived in caves before I transitioned. It can't get much austere than that. However, that was before the end of don't ask don't tell and long before the word 'transgender' was ever said by a secretary of defense. Did we have females with us? Yes, we did. They changed the jobs classification from combat to admin after I reenlisted. How did they do? Not so well generally speaking but that had more to do with racism, sexism and cronyism than their actual abilities as soldiers.
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