Ruling Allows US Transgender Recruits From January

The Pentagon has said that transgender people can enlist in the US military from January 1st, despite President Donald Trump's opposition.

The new policy reflects growing legal pressure on the issue and the difficult hurdles the federal government would have to cross to enforce the ban.

Two federal courts already have already ruled against the ban.

However, potential transgender recruits will have to meet a strict set of physical, medical and mental conditions in order for them to join the armed forces.

Pentagon official Major David Eastburn announced that the enlistment of transgender recruits will begin on January 1st.

The enlistment will take place amid the ongoing legal battles, and the Department of Defence is studying the issue.

Major Eastburn, however, said that the new guidelines mean that the Pentagon can disqualify recruits with gender dysphoria, a history of medical treatments associated with gender transition, and those who underwent reconstruction.

Despite these strict guidelines, recruits are allowed to enlist should a medical provider certify that they had been clinically stable in the preferred sex for 18 months, and are free of significant distress in social or occupational areas.

Transgender individuals receiving hormone therapy must also be stable on their medication for 18 months.

The requirements make it challenging for a transgender recruit to pass, but they mirror concerns Barack Obama's administration laid out when the Pentagon initially lifted its ban on transgender service last year.

The Pentagon has similar restrictions for recruits with a variety of medical or mental conditions, such as bipolar disorder.

Major Eastburn said:

"Due to the complexity of this new medical standard, trained medical officers will perform a medical prescreen of transgender applicants for military service who otherwise meet all applicable applicant standards”

Last year, then-defence secretary Ash Carter ended the ban on transgender service members, allowing them to serve openly in the military.

Mr Trump tweeted in July that the federal government "will not accept or allow" transgender troops to serve "in any capacity" in the military.

A month later, he issued a formal order telling the Pentagon to extend the ban. He gave the department six months to determine what to do about those currently serving.

Mr Trump's decision was quickly challenged in court, and two US district court judges have already ruled against the ban.