Everyone has an opinion on this transgender/military issue, when I suspect that .01% of people actually know anything about it. I certainly don’t know anything about it. I’ve never known a transgender soldier. I don’t know how successful or unsuccessful they have been in the military compared to other enlistees. I don’t know how much they have cost the military compared to other soldiers. I don’t know how much they request medical care related to their status. I don’t know their rate of mental stability compared with other military personnel, etc. etc. Such numbers might reveal that it’s an issue, or they might reveal that it isn’t. So whereas everyone (including, I suspect, Trump) has formed and stated their final opinion with utter conviction, I prefer to wait until some informative data is made available. As it is, I think most people have made their decision already, along party or religious lines.
Right with you, Puggo. I would need to see what extra costs transgenders would have as soldiers and if their mental condition (which it is) would cause any complications in the military environment.
I phrased my post carefully. It’s not just what costs transgenders would have, it is how those costs compare with other soldiers. There are probably many other classes of people in the military that have associated costs, that we don’t bat an eye at. If the added cost for transgenders is comparable, then it shouldn’t be an issue just because some people think it’s icky.
Already I’m hearing pundits decry the millions of dollars spent on this or that for transgender soldiers. What I’m not hearing is how that compares with other soldiers that are atypical in various ways. For example, should the military kick out all nearsighted soldiers? I would guess that the military spends more on eyeglasses than it does on gender hormones, even for one soldier. Or, should the military kick out someone who stutters? A quick Google search shows that stutterers are sometimes teased and have trouble fitting in.