David Andelman

Opinion columnist

With his edict banning transgender individuals from service in the military, President Trump has once again broken ranks with most of his major allies and left the United States out of step with much of the world.

At least 18 other countries allow transgender people in their military, and nine others may be transitioning toward that, according to a study by the Hague Center for Strategic Studies. They include all major European militaries (Britain, France, Germany and Italy), as well as all the Scandinavian militaries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland) and Estonia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic and Austria. All but Finland, Austria and Sweden are members of NATO. Other countries welcoming transgender military members include Australia, Israel, New Zealand and even Bolivia.

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The Hague study was prepared four years ago, but Brynn Tannehill, director of advocacy for SPART*A, representing LGBT people who currently serve or have served in the military, said in an interview that these numbers have not changed substantially since then.

Many of these allied armed forces have welcomed gay and lesbian as well as transgender members for decades. The Netherlands was first to accept them in 1974 to bring its military into sync with the Dutch constitution, which calls for nondiscrimination by virtue of gender, religion or “any other characterization of that nature.”

The Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Angus Houston, seven years ago revoked the policy that had banned transgender service members. It was the last government agency to fire employees for transitioning their gender; it came 18 years after Australia had repealed its ban on lesbian or gay troops..

Bolivia is the only Latin American country that researchers at the Hague Center were able to identify as welcoming transgender members of the military, but Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay have all joined Bolivia in legalizing a change in an individual’s gender.

Sadly, the new Trump policy aligns the United States more closely to Russia, where transgender people are often abused and condemned and the military takes precautions to identify individuals with “sexual deviations.” This includes examination for any evidence of “tattoos around the face, and on the sex organs and buttocks,” as the BBC quoted the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

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Throughout, there has been no substantive evidence that admission of gay, lesbian or transgender individuals has had any impact on the morale or performance in any of the armed services where they have been admitted and served, according to Tannehill. Indeed, in some countries, there are decades of experience — particularly in the United Kingdom where, Tannehill said, they have been serving for more than 20 years. “The RAND Corporation also looked at the numbers and found costs are negligible,’’ she said. "It is not a cost driver. Trans service members have served all over the world and many have unique skills."

Moreover, in most countries, the military serves as a direct reflection of society at large. The presence or absence of transgender service members is a critical sign of how open and sensitive a society is to all its members. Trump and the Defense Department would do well to keep this reality in mind before reversing a policy that is going in the opposite direction in virtually every nation which the United States should take as a model, and to which it should serve as an example.

David A. Andelman, a member of the USA TODAY Board of Contributors, is editor emeritus of World Policy Journal and author of A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today. Follow him on Twitter @DavidAndelman.

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