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Module Two: TransMilitary

Adam Moore

Arizona State University

OGL 350: Diversity and Organizations (83218)

Dr. Kermit Brown

4 September 2021
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Module Two: TransMilitary

The fact that I am actively serving in the military has given me some preexisting opinions

on transgender individuals in the military. However, viewing the documentary gave me a much

more in-depth look at the issue than I’ve ever been exposed to before. My general line of

thinking with this topic is that there is no overwhelming reason as to why people who identify as

transgender should be barred from serving as long as they can meet the same requirements

demanded of any other individual. If a person is capable doing their job, whether it’s holding a

gun and guarding a gate, processing personnel paperwork, or driving a forklift, who or what they

identify as should, in my eyes, be completely inconsequential. For these reasons, I fully support

the incorporation of transgender individuals into the military.

Regardless, there are three potential arguments against this that I have seen during my

time in. First and most common is the medical cost incurred by the government to support any

potential transitioning process. As displayed in the documentary, this is about $8.4 million

annually. From the perspective of what gets spent by the entire Department of Defense, this is

less than a drop in the bucket. The projected budget for fiscal year 2022 for the Department of

Defense is $715 billion, meaning that $8.4 million would make up 0.001 percent of the total

monetary commitment. To compare once again, the up-front cost of one F-15 fighter jet is $87

million (Hollings, 2021). When looking at these statistics, it makes me think that it is impossible

to argue in good faith specifically against government-provided, transgender-related medical

costs that amount to one tenth of the cost of one airplane. The only legitimate way to make that

argument is when making a case that the entire military budget is too bloated, and even then,

there should be much bigger fish to fry than this 0.001 percent cost.
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The second argument that I’ve heard is that allowing transgender individuals to enlist is

that military service would be used as an “easy” way for them to get any related surgeries and

medical costs covered by government, rather than any real desire to serve. This one is just

absolutely nonsensical to me. Nobody seems to have a problem with all the people that join to

have college paid for through tuition assistance or the GI Bill. The same case applies to those

who join the military to gain American citizenship. Both of those are seen as simple, practical,

and honorable reasons to join the military by the vast majority of people I’ve worked with. All

three cases have the same idea in mind for the individual: creating a better situation for

themselves. That’s the entire marketing statement of the armed forces! Join up, do your time, get

X, Y, or Z benefit, thank you for your service, and get on with your life. Having transgender

medical support be paid for fits right in with that philosophy and should, if anything, be

embraced rather than used as an argument against inclusion.

Lastly, and perhaps most prominently displayed in both the film and my experience, is

just plain bigotry. While the military is a vast organization comprised of people from every

imaginable background, there is no denying that it tends to attract people with more conservative

ideals than not. I am absolutely not trying to say that transgenders in the service should be

banned because of this. Rather, that it is an unfortunate truth that they will be far more likely to

be targeted by both peers and their leadership simply for being who they are. As referenced in

the film, the discrimination would not necessarily be direct. It could be more of a situation where

an impossible spotlight is put on them and they are targeted for the most minor infractions

possible that would otherwise be completely ignored if they were “normal.” For now, the reality

is very real that a transgender individual could end up working under people that are biased
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against them for no good reason. Eliminating that possibility cannot be done overnight through

policy changes, but instead a generation of cultural shift towards inclusivity.

Like how SPARTA was able to enact change on military policy, activism is the best way

to continue to fight for inclusivity at large. When it comes to the LGBTQ community, I believe

an end goal should be that someone being gay or transgender gives the average person no more

mental pause than saying they are single or married. All of those things are personal traits that

should carry no more baggage than any other and be ultimately inconsequential in the judgement

of their character. Discrimination based on gender or gender preference has no place in either

legislation or common culture, and its elimination is the best way to move towards a healthier

society.
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References

Gravitas Ventures. (2018). TransMilitary. https://smile.amazon.com/Transmilitary-Laila-

Ireland/dp/B07PXV5YJT/ref=sr_1_1?
dchild=1&keywords=transmilitary&qid=1630776245&sr=8-1.

Hollings, A. (2021, July 27). How much cheaper is THE F-15EX compared to the F-35?
Sandboxx. https://www.sandboxx.us/blog/how-much-cheaper-is-the-f-15ex-compared-to-
the-f-35/.