Tag Archives: dadt

President Gives US Military Transgender Directive

Last Friday President Trump issued a formal directive for the Department of Defense to reverse the decision by former President Obama to allow transgenders to serve in the US military. Noting that transgenders had been banned from serving up until just last summer, the reasoning was fairly benign:

The previous Administration failed to identify a sufficient basis to conclude that terminating the Departments’ longstanding policy and practice would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources, and there remain meaningful concerns that further study is needed to ensure that continued implementation of last year’s policy change would not have those negative effects.

The outcry from sexual activists was swift, with Ashley Broadway-Mack — the activist “devout Christian” homosexual milspouse — calling on “Congress or the courts” or just about anybody to “take action to reverse Trump’s policy.”

Of course, it isn’t “Trump’s policy”, as the President’s memorandum notes, and gender-based activists are flailing for a course of action because they likely realize there isn’t really anything they can do. President Obama Read more

Local Pastor Opposes Trump’s Military Transgender Ban

Kevin Johnson is the pastor of Bloom in the Desert Ministries United Church of Christ, a small congregation that meets in the local community center in Palm Springs, CA. Johnson is an “out gay man” who, though admitting no connection with the military, took religious issue with President Trump’s tweeted ban on transgenders in the US military:

The trans ban rewards religious prejudice. It does not enhance military readiness. The skills and success of trans military personnel currently serving prove the ban will squander investments in training and cumulative years of service…

Arguably, a ban on a group of individuals does have the potential to “enhance military readiness” if, by Read more

Media, Military Public Affairs Feed Transgender Narrative

In its ongoing efforts to garner sympathy and support, the LGBT movement continues to put a “face” on its agenda, using US troops. Most recently, the Washington Post (repeated at the Stars and Stripes) reported on US Naval Academy Midshipman Regan Kibby, a female who entered the Academy after a lifetime of “not [feeling] like a girl” and decided to become a male — even though such gender confusion/dysphoria was an explicitly disqualifying condition when she entered the military.

For Kibby to be told she could serve openly — and then to have that decision reversed — is certainly frustrating (though she was the one to join the military in violation of the original policies to begin with).

More interesting, though, is the total absence of Washington Post, Stars and Stripes, or military Read more

Former SecNav Ray Mabus’ Awkward Attack on Trump, Transgenders

Former Navy Secretary Ray Mabus published a commentary at Time.com railing against President Trump’s decision to ban transgenders from military service. The opinion piece was riddled with passionate but unsupported accusations — and, somewhat surprisingly, a seemingly ignorant perspective of the US military and the world, given his former tenure as the leader of the US Navy.  Said Mabus [emphasis added]:

By barring transgender[s]…Donald Trump told thousands of serving trans patriots they are not worthy of defending the country they love…

Contrary to his appeals to emotion, “barring” from service says nothing about anyone’s  Read more

President Trump Issues Ban on Transgender Military Service

In what has become his trademark fashion, President Donald Trump issued a major policy statement 140 characters at a time yesterday, effectively re-enacting the DoD’s prohibition on transgenders serving in the US military.

The critics immediately pounced.

As accurately noted, the tweet does not explain how this new policy will be implemented — specifically, what it means to transgenders who have been allowed to served openly since President Obama made a similar unilateral decision last year. That said, it seems reasonably obvious that the ban on enlistment will continue.

This is, of course, exactly what the policy was just one year ago under President Obama — as well as Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, etc, etc. President Trump has done nothing more than restore a longstanding policy.

The rebuttals were predictable, and weak:  Read more

Military LGBT Activists See Ray of Hope in Anthony Kurta

President Trump recently nominated retired Rear Admiral Anthony Kurta to become the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. RAdm Kurta’s name is familiar because he’s been filling in as the Under Secretary for some time, as President Trump’s administration has been slow to fill appointee positions.

And in that nomination, LGBT activists see a ray of hope.

The office of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is responsible for recruiting, retention, health affairs, “quality of life”, among other colloquialisms for “people”. By virtue of a memorandum issued by then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter under President Obama, the USDPR is the office tasked with creating, managing, and overseeing the policies with regard to transgender issues.  That’s the office currently run by Kurta, and for which he is nominated to be Deputy.

Far from being behind the scenes, Anthony Kurta has been front and center on sexual issues as Read more

First Gay General on Readiness, Integrity

MajGen Tammy Smith, 8th Army deputy commander for sustainment, is often lauded as the “first openly gay general” in the US military. She recently spoke at Yongsan Garrison, South Korea, on the topic of sexuality:

The U.S. military’s first openly gay general says advances in granting rights to the military’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have increased the ability “to fight tonight” in South Korea.

Gen Smith’s reasoning essentially says there are so few potential service members in American society that everybody has to be allowed to serve — even if they’re homosexual. She does not appear to address the many other exclusions that prevent “talent” from entering the military, like criminal records, drug use, etc.

Interestingly, the article referenced since-deleted “negative comments” on the Garrison’s Facebook page in response to her speaking in favor of homosexuality:  Read more

RAdm Robert Sharp: Diversity Just Makes Sense. Until it Doesn’t.

RAdm Robert Sharp, director of the National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office and commander of Office of Naval Intelligence, recently made a fascinating statement in support of the LGBT community [emphasis added]:

[Sharp] said his commitment comes from the important role diversity and inclusion play in building a strong Navy. It not only the right thing to do, he said, it is a warfighting readiness imperative

Nowhere is that more important than in the intelligence community, he said.

“It’s our job to go out there and understand adversaries. We need to be looking at threats from every different angle, and if we can’t bring in diversity of experience, diversity of expertise, diversity of thought, we will not be as good as we need to be for our nation.”

That begs two important questions: Read more

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