DOD Allows Hormone-Treated Trans Soldiers to Sidestep Deployments

(FamilyConservationPAC.com) – According to a February 2023 Department of Defense letter explaining care at the Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) at Fort Liberty, transgender soldiers taking hormone therapy may postpone deployment for as long as 300 days.

The document notes that most military personnel “will require up to 300 days to be stabilized on cross-sex hormone therapy, and they will remain in a non-deployable status during that time.”

The Dossier was the source for the memo’s first acquisition and publication. That timetable, meanwhile, is contingent on when the service member is “clinically stabilized.”

The memo lists other procedures and therapies that transgender soldiers may get at WAMC at government expense.

The memo stated that transgender military members might request “surgical care,” such as “upper” and “bottom” surgery, after completing a year of hormone therapy.

“The transgender service members could potentially ask for surgery without first undergoing hormone therapy,” according to the statement.

The memo said that “Upper” surgery, which may be conducted at WAMC and is a covered benefit, was not covered, as were “bottom” surgery and “voice feminization” surgery, both of which could not be performed at WAMC.

The letter also stated that all transitioning military members will receive voice and communication treatment.

According to the memo, WAMC could perform body or facial contouring, but it is not covered as it is considered cosmetic.

In the case of “bottom” surgery, laser hair removal was not regarded as cosmetic but as medically required.

“A service member can ask for a policy exception so that they can use “self-identified gender standards for uniform, grooming, fitness testing, as well as self-identified gender billeting, bathroom, and shower facilities” during the 9 to 18 months it may take to complete a gender transition,” according to the memo.

The document stated that transgender military personnel must obtain their unit commanders’ approval before beginning medical therapy.

Commanders “may not deny medically necessary care,” according to an example medical treatment plan attached to the document.

But it did state that “timelines for specific treatments may be adjusted to minimize readiness impact.”

The Womack Army Medical Center commander, Army Col. David Ross Zinnante, has signed the memo.

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In April 2021, the Biden Administration released a policy allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military. The memo instructs WAMC staff on how to properly interact with transgender soldiers based on the updated guidelines.

The Trump administration’s policy, which allowed transgender soldiers to serve only in their biological sex and disallowed those diagnosed with gender dysphoria—a condition in which the service member was experiencing psychological distress over remaining in their biological sex—was reversed by the Biden administration.

Maj. Rachel Jones, a transgender soldier, was featured by the Army last month. She compared her “coming out journey” to “taking off a very heavy rucksack.”

“When a ruck is going on, you find it difficult to move as you should, your body hurts, and you just want to stop,” he said.

According to an Army article, Jones stated that when you remove the ruck, “everything feels lighter and easier and there is a tremendous sense of relief.”

What are your thoughts on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military?

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