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US Army Won't Accept Transgender People in Any Capacity - Trump

© AP Photo / Petr David JosekUS army soldiers (File)
US army soldiers (File) - Sputnik International
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The US will not accept or allow transgender people to serve in the US military in any capacity, President Trump wrote on Twitter.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would not allow transgender people to serve in the US military in any capacity.

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow […] Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the US Military," Trump stated on Twitter.

Trump added that that transgender soldiers would burden the military with "tremendous medical costs and disruption."

US Army soldiers representing units participating in the the Anaconda-16 military exercise, attend the opening ceremony, in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, June 6, 2016. - Sputnik International
Pentagon: More Time Needed to Determine Whether Transgender Soldiers Can Serve
A Rand Corporation study commissioned by the Department of Defense last year estimated there were 2,450 US transgender service members on active duty and about 1,500 on reserve duty.

In June 2016, the Pentagon ended the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military or from being discharged based solely on their status. Then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter gave the military branch commanders one year — until July 1, 2017 — to determine how to recruit transgender people and make changes to training.

On June 30, Defense Secretary James Mattis ordered the recruitment of transgender applicants to be delayed a further six months.

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