This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
WARNING: Offensive subject matter
A U.S. Army secret memo on medical care for transgender servicemembers lists an array of taxpayer-funded medical procedures and treatments provided for gender-confused military members who are "transitioning" to live as the "opposite sex" – from surgically removing a man's testicles to facilitate him becoming a "transgender woman," to breast-removal "surgery" for women becoming "transgender males."
The confidential Feb. 1 memo, "Care of Service Members who Identify as Transgender," obtained by investigative reporter Jordan Schachtel, comes from the Defense Health Agency at the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It was published by Schachtel on his Substack Tuesday.
The Defense Health Agency memo also reveals that servicemembers approved for transgender "transition" care may become "non-deployable" for 300 days, more than four-fifths of a year until they become "clinically stabilized" – thus illustrating the detrimental effect of "trans inclusion" on military readiness.
Conservatives like Schachtel saw the memo as just more evidence of the Biden-run military's misplaced priorities, which they said are fueling the Biden military's recruitment crisis.
"The United States military is facing its worst recruiting environment since 1973 when the conscription era ended and the current all-volunteer force was formed," writes Schachtel. "As the Defense Department memo makes clear, the U.S. military in 2023 represents more of a social welfare and social justice program than an entity purposed with defeating an aggressing army."
Moreover, critics noted the special treatment and status accorded transgender servicemembers – even though many millions of Americans believe "gender dysphoria" to be abnormal and akin to a mental disorder – compared with others in the military who suffered from less-politicized medical conditions. Barack Obama's defense secretary, Ash Carter, opened up the military to transgender persons in 2016.
Jordan Karr, an Air Force veteran whose Twitter bio says she is "suing the DoD over unlawful vaccine mandates," tweeted in response to Schachtel's report: "I couldn’t get a waiver for the experimental/unlawful [COVID vaccine] mandate for having a fertility disorder so I was forced out, but these mentally ill members can receive endless waivers because they THINK they’re the wrong gender."
Schachtel lists some of the "highlights" (he puts the word in quotes) from the Army memo, writing that "Taxpayer-funded 'care' for transgender service members includes":
The memo states: "The overarching goal of treatment for Transgender Service Members (TGSMs) is to provide a safe and effective pathway to achieve lasting personal comfort with their gendered selves to maximize their overall health and promote psychological well-being and self-fulfillment while allowing them to continue to pursue their military service goals."
Among the stated purposes of the 34-page memo is "To establish uniform guidelines regarding the medical and mental health care of service members who identify as transgender."
On page 3, it defines terms: "1) Males identifying as females: Transgender female; 2) Females identifying as males: Transgender males."
The document states: "Gender transition begins when a military medical provider diagnoses a [servicemember] with gender dysphoria and determines that gender transition is medically necessary."
Risk and 'side effects' of trans procedures
In the process of laying out the guidelines for evaluation and diagnosis of trans-identified servicemembers seeking to "transition" to an opposite-sex "gender-identity" (they must pick either "male" or "female" as their new gender), and the "care" provided, the memo also lays out the risks "and possible side effects" of "gender-affirming hormone therapy" (GAHT).
For example, for "transgender males" (biological females seeking to live as transgender "men") it lists the following:
a. High risk of adverse outcome with erythrocytosis.
b. Moderate risk for liver dysfunction, coronary artery disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and breast or uterine cancer.
c. Possible increased risk for irreversible infertility, low bone mineral density, increased insulin resistance and diabetes.
d. [Servicemember] will be offered a referral for reproductive counselling.
The following are the risks listed in an appendix on "Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy ... for the Transgender Females" (men seeking to live as "women"):
"The endocrinologist/specialist will counsel the [servicemember] on the risks, anticipated benefits, and possible side effects of GAHT [gender affirming hormone therapy]. The endocrinologist/specialist will obtain baseline labs and dexa [a type of X-ray called 'dual energy X-ray absorptiometry'] if not already completed; [servicemember] will sign consent form to receive hormone therapy.
a. Increased risk of venous thromboembolic disease, gallstones, weight gain, and hypertriglyceridemia.
b. Low risk for prolactinoma and hepatotoxicity.
c. Possible risk for irreversible infertility, insulin resistance & diabetes, low bone mineral density and cardiovascular disease."
The next point listed ("d") might raise some eyebrows: "[Servicemember] will be offered a referral for reproductive counseling," since one of the procedures paid for through the military's "transgender care" is what Schachtel refers to as "genital mutilation," the surgical creation of a makeshift "vagina" using the tissue from the man's "surgically" destroyed penis.
Notably, once the "transition" has begun, the servicemember remains non-deployable – in the case of women becoming trans "men," up to 300 days. In an appendix on "Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy Clinical Pathway for Transgender Males," the Army memo states: "If clinically stabilized at 300 days (or sooner) temporary profile will be cancelled and SM returns to full duty status and deployable."
Retired Green Beret combat veteran Joe Kent, a GOP 2024 congressional candidate in Washington State, retweeted Schachtel's exclusive, adding: "Biden’s DoD lets trans troops skip deployments to receive taxpayer-funded gender treatments...To fill the void left by low recruiting/retention & trans troops sidelined Biden is required to call up the reserves...This is the confluence of hubris, malice & incompetence."
