Transgender military academy grads could join ranks quickly, expert says

Tom Vanden Brook | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Transgender graduates of the military’s service academies have a clear, quick path to military careers under the new policy the Pentagon established Jan. 1, according to a former senior Defense official and experts.

In 2017, there were at least two academy graduates who did not receive commissions to become officers because the Pentagon lacked a policy for accepting transgender troops. That policy changed Jan. 1 when the military, compelled by court rulings, opened its ranks to transgender applicants.

Brad Carson, the former top Pentagon personnel official who oversaw the repeal of the ban on transgender military service, said academy graduates who are transgender have the fastest, clearest route to joining the military. At least eight transgender volunteers have signed paperwork with Air Force recruiters to become airmen since Jan. 1. However, medical and aptitude testing can take several months for them to complete.

More: Eight transgender volunteers apply to join the Air Force after courts ordered policy change

Carson sees no such obstacles for the academies’ transgender graduates.

“It is possible that they might have to do some extra medical screens if they are joining a branch like, say, aviation, as pilots have to meet some standards that the other branches might not require,” Carson said. “But I would think that the academy graduates, who have been through four years of taxpayer-funded training and met every requirement, should be able to be processed almost instantly.”

It's unclear if any transgender academy graduates have sought to join the active-duty ranks.

"They've graduated from a service academy and administratively fulfilled the requirement to become a commissioned officer, however, now that the policy has changed, it's on them to attempt to qualify for service under the new standards," said Army Maj. Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman. "Since they've left the academies, there's no way for us to track them other than as graduates."

For now, all transgender graduates of the academies will have the opportunity to serve in uniform.

"Transgender graduates of all service academies will be assessed in compliance with the current standards implemented by the (Department of Defense) on January 1st, 2018,” Eastburn said.

The Air Force and Army sought to place their transgender graduates in civilian jobs last year. Academy graduates have a five-year commitment to active-duty service but the lack of a policy for admitting troops who identified as transgender prevented them from fulfilling their military obligation. The Pentagon could not immediately determine if the two transgender graduates of 2017 were employed by the military, or if they were seeking to join the active-duty force now that they are eligible.

More: Transgender cadets at military academies can graduate but not serve

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis delayed accepting new recruits by the mid-2017 deadline set under the Obama administration, saying the issue needed more study. In July, President Trump declared via tweet that transgender troops had no place in the military despite an Obama-era policy that allowed them to serve openly.

Mattis has appointed a panel to recommend a new policy on transgender service, which is scheduled to be announced in late February. Among other requirements, transgender recruits will have to demonstrate that they have been stable in their gender for 18 months.

All recruits must pass a battery of physical and mental aptitude tests. For any volunteer, transgender or not, it can take several months to meet all the standards to officially join the military. For transgender individuals who have volunteered since Jan. 1, passing all the required tests by Mattis' February deadline will be challenging, according to Carson.

But transgender academy graduates should have no greater difficulty than their fellow classmates, said Aaron Belkin, executive of the Palm Center, a nonprofit group that advocates for transgender troops.

"Their path should be as clear as it is for any academy graduate," Belkin said.