- Title: Transgender Army veteran shocked at Trump's ban on transgender from U.S. military
- Date: 26th July 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 26, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) TRANSGENDER VETERAN WHO SERVED IN THE U.S. ARMY, JENNIFER LONG, SAYING: "The repercussions of such a statement from the commander in chief are big. You know, 15,000 service members right now are facing discharge from the military. What do those discharged look like? Are they going to be honorable? Less than honorable? Dishonorable? What are the implications to them and their families? Career soldiers that have given their careers with distinction to now not have that job, that impact. How does the Pentagon react to that when making policy? What are the options and what are the shifts? Unless they recall the statement, which is unlikely."
- Embargoed: 9th August 2017 23:25
- Keywords: Donald Trump transgender military tweet Jennifer Long
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / INTERNET
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0056RCW0UF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:A U.S. Army veteran said she was shocked after reading on Twitter Wednesday (July 26) about U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to ban transgender people from the U.S. military.
Jennifer Long, a transgender woman who served in the military for 29 years, said that the talent pool is made that much smaller with transgender individuals not being able to serve in the military. Long said she was "given the option" to "retire quietly" because the senior staff had a hard time with her transition from male to female.
As many as 10,700 transgender people are estimated to be serving in the U.S. military out of 1.4 million overall, according to a 2016 study by the RAND Corp., a California-based defense think tank. Another 134,000 people are transgender veterans, experts estimate.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced last year it was ending a ban on transgender troops serving openly, and it was expected this year to start allowing transgender recruits to join the armed forces. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
