Let Transgender Americans Continue to Serve in the Military

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/opinion/transgender-ban-mattis-trump.html

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In August 2017, President Trump issued an executive order banning transgender Americans from serving in the military and tasked Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with giving him recommendations on how to carry out that ban. A Pentagon spokesman said that the recommendations were made on Friday.

Kristin Beck, a former Navy SEAL, served from 1990 to 2011. Ms. Beck, formerly known as Christopher, deployed 13 times, including to Afghanistan and Iraq. Along the way, she was awarded numerous ribbons and medals for her service, including a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

In 2013 Ms. Beck came out as a woman and began hormone therapy in preparation for sex reassignment surgery. If permitted, she would like to rejoin the military this year.

In this video op-ed, Ms. Beck makes a last-minute plea to allow all transgender Americans to serve their country.