CAMDEN — PARIS (AP) — Within weeks of the Pentagon allowing transgender service members to serve openly, Army officials said 10 soldiers have formally asked to be recognized as their new, preferred gender.
The small number represents only those who have publicly said they are transgender, and doesn't include soldiers who may be considering or beginning gender transition or those who don't yet want to make an official paperwork change.
Gen. Mark Milley, chief of staff of the Army, said the key now is to educate the force, particularly commanders who will have to make decisions about soldiers in their units who request a gender change.
"Is the army ready? Well, we are educating ourselves, and we are trying to get ready," Milley said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We're well-past the issue of debating and arguing about transgender. We are now into execution, to make sure the program is carried out with diligence, dignity, respect."
The Pentagon policy took effect Oct. 1, and Army Secretary Eric Fanning approved the service's new transgender guidelines earlier this month. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced in June that he was ending the ban on transgender individuals serving openly in the military.
Transgender troops are now able to receive medical care and begin changing their gender identifications in the Pentagon's personnel system. Next year, the military services will begin allowing transgender individuals to enlist, as long as they meet required standards and have been stable in their identified gender for 18 months.
"We're monitoring implementation closely, and everything we've seen so far points to a military organization fully committed to treating everyone equally and providing medically necessary care to all troops, not just some," said Aaron Belkin, director of the California-based Palm Center, an independent research institute. "My conclusion, so far, is that implementation has proceeded smoothly and successfully."
Milley and other military leaders expressed concerns that the department was moving too fast.
"The issue to do it or not to do it, to me is not an issue — the answer is yes," Milley said. "The question of how to do it so that it is deliberate, well thought out, executed with professionalism — that's a horse of a different color. Frankly I asked for more time."
Milley said he did a lot of "self-education," meeting with transgender individuals, both military and civilian, as well as other groups.
Now, he said, the Army is getting education programs out to the force to make sure troops and commanders know the new rules, process, medical criteria and who has the authority to make decisions on a service member's gender change.
Under the new Army guidelines, training must be developed by Nov. 1, and it must be completed throughout the force by next July.
"It's going to take a little bit of time, but there are some things I don't think you need to necessarily be trained on," Milley said. "Rule One is treat your soldiers, your subordinates, your peers and your superiors as you want to be treated. Treat everybody with dignity and respect. Period. Flat out. Full stop."
Transgender troops currently serving can request that their gender be officially changed, and they can submit required documentation, including medical approval saying the person has been stable in his or her preferred gender for 18 months and a driver's license showing the preferred gender.