Transgender people and military service

Many militaries across the world allow LGB personnel to serve openly. In 1974, the Netherlands was the first country to impose a policy that explicitly permits LGB people to serve in the military.

However, although many countries no longer exclude service on grounds of sexual orientation, there are still many countries that will exclude service on the grounds of gender identity. In a recent study by the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, of the 103 countries studied, 18 countries allow transgender military personnel, and a further nine countries might allow transgender personnel (but this could not be confirmed by the study). The 18 countries confirmed as allowing transgender people to openly serve in their militaries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Generally speaking, Western militaries show a greater tendency toward inclusion of LGBT individuals; however, some countries still expressly exclude transgender people. For example, the United States military prevented members from openly serving as LGBT with the Don't ask, Don't tell policy: the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 officially ended the discriminatory exclusion of the LGB community in the military, exclusion policies against transgender people remain in force.

Arguments against including transgender people in the military
There are arguments against the inclusion of transgender people in military service based on the view that transgenderism is a mental illness, and as such transgender individuals are unfit for service. This argument follows a high incidence of depression and suicide manifest in transgender individuals. This is especially pertinent in post sex-reassignment surgery individuals who are unsatisfied with the results, in such cases severe depression is prevalent. Hormone therapy can affect mood and a sense of wellbeing, a factor that counts against inclusion of transgender people and its effect on service capability. Besides the wellbeing argument of hormone treatment, complications may arise due to hormone treatments. Possible complications arising from oestrogen and testosterone therapies include an increased risk of thromboembolic disease, myocardial infarction, breast cancer, fertility problems, stroke, heart attack, abnormal liver function, renal disease, endometrial cancer, and osteoporosis. Any of these could cause significant issues to effective military service, especially when deployed in remote areas or in field training settings.

It follows that in order for an effective smooth running military there must be cohesion within the unit. This argument follows that transgender individuals would have negative impacts on cohesion. "The bonds of trust among individual service members" are vital. There is a fear that if transgender personnel be allowed to serve openly, morale will be detrimentally affected. This begs the question, what structural accommodations might be needed to maintain morale and unit cohesion. Military service forces members into very intimate living quarters. Requiring members to live in situations that make them feel disconcerted and uncomfortable may result in their performance being undermined. The logistics of accommodating a group of individuals with such varying degrees of gender representation would be staggering. The costs alone of allowing transgender people to serve counts heavily against inclusion. Not only logistical and structurally, but also in medical costs. It is estimated that a male to female transition can cost between $7,000USD - $24,000USD; female to male transition can exceed $50,000USD. Which, depending on policy, the military may have to fund.

Arguments for including transgender people in the military
By excluding a demographic from equal service, militaries are overtly intensifying the stigma of that group's civic inferiority. This is supported by the notion that all citizens are obligated to serve their nations if the need arises. Allowing transgender military personnel to serve openly without fear of exclusion would be a huge step toward equality. It has been recognised by some academics that the inclusion of all LGBT personnel in the military is more than a mere human rights issue, it is argued that for militaries to survive in the twenty-first century diversity is critical.

With advancements in the current understanding of human experience, sexual identity is now better understood. Where transgenderism was once considered a paraphilic disorder, the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders places transgenderism in a separate chapter, terming the condition gender dysphoria. It is argued that militaries that exclude transgender people on grounds of mental illness, whose policies pathologize gender dysphoria, are at odds with the current medical understanding. This argument requires that transgender personnel be treated by the same level of medical care as all other personnel, in accordance with established medical practice.

Experts argue that there is absolutely no empirical evidence that supports the argument that transgender people are unfit for service. Often cited are factors such as a supposed predisposition of transgender individuals to problems such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts; this is countered by the prevalence of these same issues in the LGB community, yet in many countries their service is not excluded. By creating a more accepting environment, distress that transgender personnel feel might be mitigated if they may serve openly with full support.

Whilst militaries often cite the high medical cost of transgender people, they fail to reconcile this argument with current standards with other service members. For example, militaries often allow hormone treatments for an array of reasons and conditions, besides gender dysphoria; a common hormone treatment being contraceptive. Furthermore, the often cited risks of cross hormone treatment are rare, and not likely to cause any significant issues to the military. Whilst the cost of gender reassignment surgery is high, it is suggested that fewer than 2% of transgender members per year will chose to undergo gender re-assignment surgery.

Perhaps one of the most supporting arguments is based on the experiences of the 18 countries that currently allow transgender service. Research on the impacts of allowing LGBT to serve openly in the Israeli Defense Forces, British Armed Forces, and Canadian Armed Forces found no necessary negative impacts on performance, unit cohesion or morality.

Australia
Eighteen years after the Australian Defence Force lifted their ban on Gay and Lesbian service, the ADF reversed policy that excluded transgender people from military service. It is believed that the Australian Defence Force was the last agency whose policy specifically allowed for firing employees for transitioning gender. The ADF policy supports diversity in the military identifying LGBTI as a main priority, whose key objective is to position the ADF as an employer of choice, who as an organisation respects and supports the inclusion of gender diverse persons.

In 2013 Australian law formally codified protections against discrimination based on gender identity by including federal protections for LGBTI in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. There are approximately 15 transgender service member who are openly living as their identified gender, with the support of ADF ranking officials who have been vocally committed to creating an inclusive and diverse military environment. In a One Plus One interview with ABC News ADF's highest ranking transgender service member Lieutenant Colonel Cate McGregor speechwriter to the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General David Morrison AO, stated that the Chief of Army took the view that the "army could not survive if it became a demographic ghetto" and described an underbelly within the military whose culture was to exclude those who are different. In the wake of the Jedi Council sex scandal Chief of Army released a strongly worded statement urging all service members to show moral courage, to stand against any person degrading another individual. He further stated that he will "be ruthless in ridding the army of people who cannot live up to its values". Whilst there might still be a long road to full acceptance of the transgender community in Australia, transgender service members and their families are supported by DEFGLIS whose aim is to support LGBTI personnel and families, strengthen defence capability through inclusion, and educate the workforce about diversity.

New Zealand
The New Zealand Defence Force has been lauded as a world leader in diversity and for support of the GLBTIQ community, and has been ranked as number one for integration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender personnel into the nation's military.

With the addition of the Human Rights Act to the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act in 1994, discrimination based on sexual orientation was criminalised. Although there is no specific reference to transgender people in the New Zealand statute, it has been held by the Solicitor General that protections for transgender people did in fact come under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 under the sex discrimination provision. Whilst the Human Rights Commission and many activists still assert the need for an express provision in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act to properly protect transgender people from discrimination, the NZDF as an equal opportunity employer does not discriminate on the basis of gender identity.

In support of maintaining diversity and inclusiveness the Chief of Defence Force approved the establishment of a support group for the military's LGBTI personnel. In 2012 an organisation called the NZDF Overwatch was launched within the defence force. Overwatch provides peer support and networking within the defence force to the GLBTI community, both in uniform and out. The organisation also offers education and guidance to command and commanders. The NZDF and Overwatch was recognised for their inclusiveness and approach to equal employment opportunity being named the Supreme award winner of the ANZ and Equal Employment Opportunities Trust, Diversity Awards NZ 2013.

United States
United States' military policy allows for exclusion of transgender people from service on medical grounds. The Department of Defence's current policy defines transsexualism as a psychosexual condition, along with other paraphilia such as voyeurism, exhibitionism, and transvestism, a current history of which is grounds for medical unfitness to serve. Where a transgender person has undergone sex-reassignment surgery, they may be excluded on physical medical grounds, based on "major abnormalities or defects of the genitalia" on change of sex or a history of penis amputation.

It is estimated that there are approximately 15,500 transgender individuals either serving on active duty or in the guard or reserve forces within the U.S. Military. Whilst gay, lesbian and bisexual service members are now allowed to serve openly, transgender service members risk discharge if they do not pass as their assigned sex. This requires that current service members conceal their gender identities throughout service.

Support for transgender inclusion in the U.S. Military is growing. In February 2015, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter made a statement suggesting an openness to including transgender people in the military, stating he is open minded about it, and that nothing but merit should preclude them from service. Carter's statement has since been endorsed by President Obama. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James has openly supported a change to the Military's transgender policy, stating that it is likely to be reviewed in the next year or so. On August 19, Carter stated in a memo that the Defense Department had begun the process of dismantling the ban and that transgenders wold be able to openly serve in the U.S. military by May 27 of next year.

Chelsea Manning, a current transgender U.S. soldier, currently in detention for violations under the Espionage Act, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of Defence Hagel for failing to provide her with appropriate medical treatment necessary for her gender dysphoria. In a military first, hormone treatment to assist with Chelsea Manning's gender conformity has been approved and added to her treatment plan at Fort Leavenworth prison, along with other provisions such as cosmetics and female undergarments to help her express her gender identity.