Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[misko27]

Who are these "generals and military experts" if the arguably most expert person involved isn't involved?

I assume Lt. General Pence was involved.

[Neonivek]

So... Do the previous presidents automatically run in the next election? or do they have to go through the process like everyone else?

[RedKing]

Who are these "generals and military experts" if the arguably most expert person involved isn't involved?

I assume Lt. General Pence was involved.

Along with Major Disaster, General Stupidity, Corporal Punishment, and Private Parts.

[Blaze]

My understanding is that the ban on Transgenders entering military is due to policy where the military covers gender reassignment surgery; which, depending on the extent of the surgery and the required hormone therapy, is a fair chunk of change per soldier.

[Frumple]

It's come up. It's also a hilarious pile of horse shit. Folks have checked the numbers, and trans spending in the military tops out at round 8.4 million total for the highest accounting possible, for everything medical (or at all, can't quite remember that one) transgender soldier related. The cheerful reference point being used is that military spending on medication for erectile dysfunction is around 84 million.

Which is to say the military could save around ten times as much as everything they spend on transgender care if they stopped buying viagra.

That cost is the actual issue is real damn hard to defend, basically.

and ninja'd goddamnit screw it have the numbers

[Sheb]

Yeah, the political gain theory makes much more sense. Which of course mean that the correct line of attack is "Trump should stop trying to determine who gets to serve in the military for political point and focus on making it a war maching".

[Blaze]

http://www.militarytimes.com/pay-benefits/military-benefits/health-care/2015/02/13/dod-spends-84m-a-year-on-viagra-similar-meds/

Not exactly sure what effect treating ED in active-duty soldiers will have on combat effectiveness. I'd understand if it was prescribed to soldiers who've been pulled back off the front due to ED being a possible symptom of PTSD.

[Frumple]

In any case, good news everybody! If you were wondering about implementation, the WH has now done a press briefing where they answer that question.

.
.
.


To paraphrase, their answer was, "We don't know." Implementation going forward? Didn't have a plan. Recall of current enlisted? No goddamn clue.

Trump administration, ladies and gents.

E: Also, it's looking rather like the first notification the military got of this change in personnel policy was the tweets. Words fail.

[RedKing]

Of course not...you need the Pentagon involved to create a plan, and they're just as WTF as the rest of us.

Trump just tweeted a little while ago:

IN AMERICA WE DONT WORSHIP GOVERNMENT - WE WORSHIP GOD

Donald Trump, Culture Warrior.

[Frumple]

... huh. I wonder if you can litigate that, given those tweets have been more or less nailed down as official statements from the POTUS. Would think a sitting president saying something like that on the record would be something like a pretty straightforward establishment clause violation.

Things a lot like it would probably slip through without much trouble, but it kinda' seems there's something of a line involved, where phrasing matters and misspeaking can be costly.

[EnigmaticHat]

I mean we already pay for people's college education to incentivize them to join the military.  Paying for gender dysphoria treatment probably doesn't seem like such a big deal in comparison.  I've heard it said that we pay over a million per soldier in Afghanistan per year; mind you that's ALL expenses including transportation, construction and equipment.

[RedKing]

Nah, probably still too ambiguous. Now if he had said we worship Jesus, maybe.

Or Mammon. Which would have been unpopular but far more accurate.

EDIT: Guys...it's not about the cost. It's never been about the cost. That's just a convenient excuse so they can claim they're not transphobic.

[sluissa]

Just FYI, Viagra is probably moslty going to the Vietnam vets. (Maybe even a few particularly frisky Korea or WW2 vets.) Once we get rid of all the "conscript" vets, VA costs will go way down anyway.

[Frumple]

EDIT: Guys...it's not about the cost. It's never been about the cost. That's just a convenient excuse so they can claim they're not transphobic.

Oh aye. But the actual costs involved make for a very easy thing to point to as evidence the excuse is bullshit.

[Neonivek]

Given Viagra is both a heart medication and a medication that aids with impotence...

I don't see an issue.