Transgender soldiers receiving hormone treatment may prevent release for as many as 300 days, according to a February 2023 Department of Defense memo outlining treatment at the Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) at Fort Liberty.
The memo, very first obtained and released by The Dossier, states that the majority of service members “will need approximately 300 days to be stabilized on cross-sex hormone treatment, and they will remain in a non-deployable status during that time.”
Nevertheless, that timeline depends on when the service member is “medically supported.”
The memo also specifies what other treatments and surgical treatments transgender soldiers might receive at WAMC at taxpayers’ expenditure.
The memo said after 12 months of hormonal agent therapy, transgender service members can request “surgical care,” such as “upper” and “bottom” surgical treatment.
It stated transgender service members could likewise ask for surgery without first getting hormonal agent treatment.
Joe Biden reversed Donald Trump’s military transgender policy that needed military employees to serve in their biological gender. https://t.co/qALNGkPsDX
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 26, 2021
The memo stated “upper” surgical treatment can be carried out at WAMC and is a covered benefit, but that surgeries that might not be performed at WAMC, to include “bottom” surgical treatment and “voice feminization” surgery, were not covered. (All transitioning service members will be offered voice and communication therapy, the memo stated).
The memo said that facial/body contouring might be carried out at WAMC, but was not covered given that it is thought about cosmetic. Laser hair elimination was also thought about cosmetic, but medically needed in the case of “bottom” surgical treatment.
The memo stated that it might take between 9-18 months to finish a gender transition, and throughout that time, a service member can ask for an exception to policy so that they might use “self-identified gender requirements for uniform, grooming, physical fitness screening, along with self-identified gender billeting, bathroom, and shower facilities.
The memo specifies that transgender service members looking for medical treatment should OK the timeline of their treatment with their unit commanders. Nevertheless, a sample medical treatment plan attached to the memo stated commanders “may not deny clinically required care,” however the “timeline for specific treatments might be adjusted to decrease preparedness effect.”
The memo is signed by Army Col. David Ross Zinnante, commander of the Womack Army Medical Center.
Medcen Memo 40 517 Care of Service Members Who Determine as Transgender by Kristina Wong on Scribd
Not having transgender members of the military “weakens our national security,” explained Biden deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. https://t.co/7SE2WQXEnt
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 27, 2021
The memo offers updated assistance to WAMC staff on dealing with transgender troops after the Biden Administration provided its policy in April 2021 enabling transgender individuals to serve in the armed force.
The Biden administration’s policy reversed the Trump administration’s policy, which allowed transgender soldiers to serve only in their biological sex and restricted those diagnosed with gender dysphoria– a condition where the service member had mental distress over staying in their biological sex– from serving.
Breitbart News got in touch with the Defense Health Agency for comment, but did not get a response by deadline.
The Army last month highlighted a transgender soldier called Maj. Rachel Jones, who explained her “coming out journey” as comparable to “removing a really heavy rucksack.”
“While the ruck is on you can’t move like you should, your body aches and you just want to stop. When you take the ruck off, everything feels lighter and much easier and there’s a massive sense of relief,” Jones said, according to an Army post.
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