Gender and the Military

The United States Military has traditionally been a more conservative body. The men and women of the armed forces are among the most respected individuals in the country. What about the "men and women" of these groups who identify as "women and men"? Ever since World War I when women were first able to serve in the military, gender has played a significant role in social standing among military members. It is rare, even today, to see a woman fighting on the front lines of battle in most combat situations even though all aspects of the military have officially been opened up to women, as well as men. It was not until last summer in June of 2016 that congress passed the ruling that all women who turn 18 are to register for the Draft. Although great progress has been made for women in the armed forces, the pathway for other social groups is still much cloudier. For years, the armed forces employed the policy of "don't ask don't tell" by means of which no person was to ask about their sexual orientation or outright tell others of said information in order to stifle the homosexual presence in the military. If said information was to come about that a member of the service was of a homosexual orientation, they would be discharged from the military, despite whatever qualifications they might have possessed.  Since 2008, the Obama administration has made a point of political correctness and spreading such practices to all facets of government and beyond. These policies have also made their way to the Armed Forces, as the "don't ask don't tell" ban on gay and lesbian service members was repealed in September of 2011. This was a crucial step in the integration of all social groups to the United States Military. However, the newly published handbook regarding transgender service in the military is a step backward. Under these new rules, commanding officers are now responsible for accepting or denying soldiers requests for gender reassignment surgeries. This is a hindrance for any genderqueer member of the armed forces because now someone else has control over how they use their body. If a soldier has an unfair CO, they could deny their request for said surgery just because they do not believe in the practice, or because they are not tolerant of other peoples views. Although the Obama administration tried to move forward, they ended up moving a class of people backward by again making them oppressed by those around them. This could create problems between soldiers and their COs which could lead to problems with the entire platoon of soldiers.