Studies from RAND National Defense Research Institute suggest that transgender individuals enlist for many of the same reasons as cisgender men and women, those whose assigned sex at birth corresponds with their gender identity. Transgender people are motivated by educational goals, career aspirations, travel, family history, patriotism and stability. Transgender service members have reported minimal mental or physical health issues that would restrict their ability to meet fitness criteria.
Transgender Map Pesqueira, 19, was given a ROTC scholarship to attend the University of Texas in Austin to study film and is a freshman there. The teenager, who was born a girl and went by Maddie for 18 years before undergoing top gender reassignment surgery last year and starting hormone therapy, has now been told that as a result of the policy shift, the scholarship no longer starts.
His family cannot afford to pay for his tuition without it, he said, so he must withdraw or come up with the money on GoFundMe. ‘Since my scholarship is now invalid, I can no longer afford to attend without financial assistance,’ he added.
The University of Texas said it was powerless against the federal law changes.
The story came to light on Wednesday when the US Naval Academy announced a ban on transgender students beginning with the 2020 school year.
The Defense Department on Monday confirmed the change, which follows a policy shift under the Trump Administration to bar people who are transgender from serving in the military.
The 2018 policy from Defense Secretary James Mattis took effect Friday after the Supreme Court allowed the ban and dissolved court injunctions. While the school in Annapolis, Maryland, currently accepts transgender students and retains midshipmen who transition to another gender, as of next year it will revert for new members.
Jessica Maxwell, a spokesperson, informed the Capital Gazette that students enrolled for the school year starting in fall 2019 would still be covered under the previous policy. This comes after the Obama Administration removed restrictions on transgender service members in 2016.
Sailor Alex Marberry was among the first to transition following the lift of restrictions by Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter three years earlier. This policy change allowed members to serve openly and included coverage for gender affirmation surgery.
On January 27, 2017, President Trump, alongside Secretary of Defense Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence at the Pentagon in Washington DC, signed executive orders signaling the start of a ‘great rebuilding’ of the US armed forces.
This plan included new aircraft, naval ships, and increased resources for the military. Trump emphasized that the military’s strength would be unquestionable, but so would its dedication to peace. We do want peace,’ Trump said in the ceremony.
The following year Mattis shared his policy plan.
The new policy at the US Naval Academy states that individuals with ‘gender dysphoria’—as defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a conflict between one’s physical or assigned gender at birth and the gender with which one identifies—cannot attend.
Starting with the 2020-21 school year, applicants must apply as the gender assigned to them at birth, and those who do not comply with this requirement risk expulsion.
Midshipman Regan Kibby, who is currently attending the academy, is among six service members challenging the Trump administration’s ban through a lawsuit.
The administration has argued that serving in the military is harmful for individuals who are transgender, but the plaintiffs, including some who wish to remain anonymous, counter that it is detrimental to the military to turn away capable and willing members based on their gender identity.
