By John Mack Freeman
The first ever international conference on trans military particiaption was held in Washington, D. C. this week. Advocates for trans military inclusion and trans military members from around the world were invited to speak. Via an ACLU press release:
“The lesson from today’s conference is clear,” said Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center and a professor of political science at San Francisco State University. “Transgender personnel serve successfully in foreign militaries, and inclusive policy will be successful in the U.S. as well.”
?Today’s conference included currently serving transgender personnel from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden.? An estimated 15,500 transgender individuals currently serve in the U.S. military, but they are banned by Pentagon rules from serving, and if their identity is discovered, the military is required to discharge them.
James Esseks, Director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project, and a co-organizer of the conference, said: “It’s time for the U.S. to embrace all LGBT military personnel. Full inclusion for transgender service members is a reality across the globe.”
The conference included panels on military diversity, stories from combat zones, and discussion of lessons and best practices from allied militaries. In one panel discussion on “Deployment in Austere Conditions,” transgender service members from the Australian and British armed forces, along with Landon Wilson, a transgender U.S. navy veteran, shared their stories from the front lines.
Read more at http://www.bilerico.com/2014/10/first-ever_us_trans_military_conference_held_in_dc.php#D0RR84sS8fo1GzKM.99
