Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., will introduce legislation this week to prohibit transgender people from serving in the military unless they meet certain specifications.
The lawmakers say the bill is aimed at making sure that “military readiness” remains the Pentagon’s top priority instead of extreme gender ideology.
“Biden has turned our military into a woke social experiment,” Rubio said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It is a stupid way to go about protecting our nation. We need to spend more time thinking about how to counter threats like China, Russia, and North Korea and less time thinking about pronouns.”
Banks, the chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel, said the bill will make sure the Defense Department “puts lethality and readiness before far-left ideology.”
“Americans who were treated for ADHD in the past two years must receive a waiver to enlist,” Banks said in a statement. “Our military holds recruits to stringent medical standards for a reason and the Biden administration’s special carveout for those suffering from gender dysphoria was purely political. Our bill ensures that DoD puts lethality and readiness before far-left ideology.” . . . (read more on Fox News)
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What People Are Saying
(Comments from the article’s comment section)
“As a US Navy Vet these folks have mental issues and have no business being in the US Military. The services have been weakened by all of this PC Woke nonsense that destroys unit cohesion, and morale. I read of military leaders constantly being relieved of command due to lack of confidence. Suicides, are chronic. Funny in the old Navy I serve in we did not have these problems on this scale. I wonder what changed? ”
“It’s a start but doesn’t go far enough. I served and know that I wouldn’t have served if they allowed alphabet people in when I served. I’m sure a lot of people feel the same today and choose not to serve. We need to change that.”
“As a retired combat veteran, I wouldn’t want anyone with special needs or conflicting mental/health issues in a life or death battle environment. It would be catastrophic for everyone. Leadership can never let that happen.”
“Seems to me that restoring the military to actually be fit and ready to fight is not only doing something for all of us but is also a Constitutional responsibility!”
“As a retired Soldier I support this effort but it will go nowhere until the Democrats lose the Senate. This might help the military recruiting get closer to the number of new recruits they need to sustain the military force.”
“Biden is doing enough to make our country look weak. The last thing we need are drag queens carrying M4s and driving tanks.”
“Good! No more joining the Military for gender assignment surgery! The Armed Forces are for defending our Country and interests, not for wokeness!”
“Good! End the insanity in the military.”
“The US military is not a charity. It is also not a mental health institution. The mentally ill should not be serving in the military. Its purpose is to protect the citizens of the United States and their interests. That said, of course, they should be protecting our borders instead of the borders of other nations.”
“What gets me the most is that we pay for these people to transition. We, the people who pay taxes, pay for their surgeries, meds, therapy and then if they change their mind, we pay it all again for them to de-transition. Crazy!!! Yes, they are mentally ill and have no business being in our military.”
“The US Military is Not a “Social Justice” Experiment.”
“Is recruiting down so much we need people with mental health issues to sign up.”
“We want people who can do the jobs required of them. This should apply to everyone with no special treatment for any sector for any reason. We have an administration that is already fraught with incompetence and unqualified people. Our military shouldn’t be an experiment to see if people can adjust on their time. Either you are qualified or your not.”
“Stop shoehorning them into the military . No one wants them in there but the Chinese.”
“We need war fighters in this nation, not “woke” fighters.”
ABOVE IMAGE:
59th MDW treats transgender service members
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas 24 JUNE 2021— Earlier this year, President Joe Biden signed an executive order making it possible for transgender service members to openly serve in the military, which further strengthened the Transgender Health Medical Evaluation Unit at the 59th Medical Wing.
“What I’m doing is enabling all qualified Americans to be able to serve their country in uniform,” Biden said during a press conference in January. “Essentially restoring the situation where transgender personnel who have qualified in every other way can serve their government in the United States military.”
For service members to receive transitional medical care, they first undergo a mental health evaluation.
“In order to have medical interventions you have to have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria,” said Chari’ McMahon, 59th Medical Specialty Squadron THMEU licensed clinical social worker. “Gender dysphoria is a marked incongruence between the gender assigned at birth and the gender that you most closely align with causing clinically significant distress.”
Once the diagnosis has been made, treatment at the THMEU begins.
“Once the provider sends the referral to our case managers, then our nursing staff reaches out to the member directly to arrange time for them to come out for the medical temporary duty assignment,” said McMahon.
During the TDY, THMEU creates an individual medical treatment plan which patients follow at their home-stations medical treatment facility.
“One of the benefits of having a centralized case management for all of the Air Force is that everything comes through us, but patients’ individual treatment facilities provide the continuing care,” said McMahon.
Not all medical treatment plans include surgery or hormones and may cover anywhere from a few months to multiple years of care.
“Each plan has a timeline in it and it’s a projection of the different interventions that the patients may need,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Joshua Smalley, 59th Medical Specialty Squadron THMEU flight commander.
In order to build an encompassing plan, providers in the THMEU review the patient’s medical records and schedule appropriate appointments such as nutrition, mental health, endocrinology, dermatology, legal, TRICARE, and speech therapy should they want to seek voice training during their transition. Patients also attend a gender expressions group.
“This is an opportunity for transgender service members to really develop a peer group of other transgender service members and provide support along the way,” said McMahon. “We want them to be able to build that connection and walk with each other through the process.”
If services aren’t available locally, the THMEU’s providers are available near or far through virtual health providing hormone therapy and mental health appointments.
“We are working to assist our service members to move forward in a way that affirms who they are and allows them to be the absolute best service members they can be,” said McMahon.
As a result, the Air Force is dedicated to ensuring equality and supporting all service members.
“I love seeing patients come back because so often I see them when they’re starting out,” said McMahon. “They’re uncertain about what the next steps are, what the military can do for them, how they can really be who they are. Being able to see them when they come back and they’re able to live fully in their affirmed gender. They’re just happier. They’re healthier, and being able to see the impact of how assisting them on their journey has really helped them thrive is amazing.”
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