Has the F-35 actually failed though?

it hasn't successfully operated stealth missions like it was designed. absolute waste

Why do the generals believe trasngendered people are incapable of being effective in high risk combat situations. Why would gender affect performance in line of duty at all.

even with a brain tumor, McCain speaking the truth while Trump's continuing his derangement on twitter

https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/890262322702204928

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/26/politics/transgender-troops-voices/index.html

It's not the generals, but the commander (whiner)-in-chief that thinks they are incapable. There are plenty of examples of long term soldiers that have and are currently serving without problems.

@brainbomb

Because men and women have obvious anatomical differences. Generally, men outperform women in every physical exercise, i.e.:strength, speed, endurance, etc. And a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. However, this does not mean all men are fit to serve and no women are. Some men just aren't up to par while some women can go toe to toe with a man.

@Manwe

brain said "gender," which sadly no longer seems to have anything to do with sex. nowadays it's a edgy way of saying "personality identity" and also is a good way of identifying obnoxious people

Military guy here who went through the transgender training after Obama allowed them in, ill clarify a couple things:

The military acknowledged and was only going to pay for surgery for those diagnosed with the actual mental condition gender dysphoria, and out of those diagnosed an even smaller amount would be deemed to be in such shape as to need gender reassignment surgery. You were not considered trans in the military by your own say so, it had to be from a military affiliated doctor.

Second, just because trump tweeted it doesn't make it an order, fact or law that it is happening, no official military word has been placed onto the validity of these tweets, and as it was done while mad dog was on leave, I would expect there to be either a retraction or dismissal of it when he gets back to DC.

My personal opinion is that they should be allowed to serve their country, but we shouldn't be paying for the surgery, just the meds.

population of transgender and gender non-conforming people are most at risk. .... suicide attempts from 4.6 percent to 2.7 percent of the adult sample.
In a new study, 30 percent of transgender youth report a history of at least one suicide attempt, and nearly 42 percent report a history of self-injury, such as cutting. The study also discovered a higher frequency of suicide attempts among transgender youth.

why let a troubled population into a profession that is stressful enough:

the Pentagon reported Friday that 265 active-duty servicemembers killed themselves last year, continuing a trend of unusually high suicide

furthermore military service discourages retention of personnel with chronic medical issues and medically discharges them. HRT is a chronic medical condition

Tweeters, thanks for that clarification. Both are excellent points

You've got cause and effect mixed up Brad. You're arguing that we shouldn't tolerate people who are more likely to suffer mental issues, when actually it's the lack of tolerance that is the root cause of the mental issues.

Regardless, until the armed forces stop spending way more money on viagra, the medical expense excuse doesn't stack up. Did you know that during gender reassignment surgery, excess erectile tissue is actually donated to erectile dysfunction research? Now that's how you help cut $84 million in military costs.

leon have you served in the military? and they could cut out viagra but that is just a strawman you gave. it is not the medical expenses that is at issue anyway. lastly there is no right to serve in the military, only obligations if called, but we haven't had a draft or need in almost 50 years

and then there is mixed up bradley/chelsea manning: the transgender traitor

Because transgender and traitor obviously belong in the same sentence.

tax payer money should not be going for all of this gender reassignment surgery. That should be paid out of pocket. Like why did we have to pay for Bradley/Chelsea Manning's gender reassignment surgery? It's nuts. This kind of stuff is coming to a stop now. Thank god.

"why let a troubled population into a profession that is stressful enough"

If I recall Brad, you do work with foster children, correct? Should they also be banned from military service because they are a population that has higher rates of suicide and self harm?

Your stance is so backwards it is appalling. Maybe the trans population has higher rates of depression/suicide etc. because of the vast sense of exclusion and persecution they face by people like you who say that are unfit for professions such as military service.

Also, this has nothing to do with Chelsea Manning, so not sure why you brought that up.

Why shouldn't taxpayer money be used for gender reassignment surgery ND? Do you think it should just be excluded from all health insurance coverage?

So ND, you're 10x more upset about the Viagra spending right? Since that costs the taxpayers 10x more money?

because it costs more money.

military should focus on supplies, training, equipment, and basic health care. We don't need to be spending money for people to have gender reassignment surgery or to take a Viagra no.

what costs more money? The DoD spent $84 million on erectile dysfunction medication. That costs 10x more money than the estimates of gender reassignment impact on health care costs.

cut all that stuff out.

Ok. So it comes down to your definition of basic healthcare.

Personally, I'd feel much better having my taxpayer money going to the happiness, and mental health of thousands military personal and veterans, than putting it aside to cover the costs of .005% of a fighter jet.

I agree that intolerance of transgender people is bad @LeonWalras but when you say

"You're arguing that we shouldn't tolerate people who are more likely to suffer mental issues, when actually it's the lack of tolerance that is the root cause of the mental issues."

i mean we haven't seen the 40% suicide rate even throughout the Jim Crow south, and in fact the only time i've ever heard that number was Jews during the Holocaust... and we're nowhere near as bad to transgendered people today as the level of persecution was for blacks and jews historically.

in fact, suicide rates are most heavily correlated with mental illness. i'm not trying to degrade transgender people AT ALL, and discrimination 100% needs to stop and DIE, but there are other factors we have to look at if we're being honest.

How do you feel about military programs that help veterans transition to civilian life once they are done serving? Is that basic health care?

sorry military is not for your personal happiness and mental health. It is for the defense of the United States of America.

it's not some yoga studio lol it's for the defense of the nation.

That's a terrible argument Yanik.

Transgender and non-transgender people would go through the same screening process to join the military. Therefore any mental health issues should be caught by the screening process.

What you are implying is just persecution based on how someone identifies their gender.