Dozens of retired generals and admirals
have come out against President Donald Trump's decision to bar
transgender people from serving in the military.
Fifty-six retired military leaders on
Tuesday joined in condemning the proposed policy change, saying that
it would “cause significant disruptions” and “deprive the
military of mission-critical talent.”
In a series of tweets last week, Trump
declared that the military will no longer “accept or allow”
transgender troops to serve “in any capacity.” The president
said that the ban was needed to avoid “tremendous medical costs and
disruption” posed by transgender people serving in the military.
The retired generals and admirals
disagreed, citing research showing that medical costs would amount to
just “one-hundredth of one percent of the military's health care
budget.”
“President Trump seeks to ban
transgender service members because of the financial cost and
disruption associated with transgender service,” the
retired military leaders wrote. “We respectfully disagree, and
consider these claims to be without merit.”
General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that “no modifications” to
the policy will be implemented until the secretary of defense has
issued implementation guidance.
(Related: Pentagon:
No official change has been made on transgender service.)