WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense will establish a panel of experts to provide advice and recommendations for President Donald Trump's order that bans transgender individuals from joining the armed forces, a statement has said.
The Pentagon announcement came several days after Trump issued a formal memorandum on the issue, suggesting that the policy would go into effect on March 23, 2018.
Trump's directive gave Secretary of Defense James Mattis wide discretion to determine how to handle those people already enlisted, in accordance with criteria, including military effectiveness, budgetary concerns, and law.
"Once the panel reports its recommendations and following my consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice to the President concerning implementation of his policy direction," Mattis said in the statement released late Tuesday.
Mattis, cautious about implementing the military transgender ban, added that existing policy on currently serving transgender troops would not change.
Trump announced last month the ban on transgender individuals serving the military "in any capacity" in a series of tweets that surprised Pentagon leaders, citing concerns over "tremendous medical costs and disruption" for their service.
The move is intended to reverse a 2016 plan by the previous administration that allows the military to have openly transgender recruits.
Civil rights groups and activists lashed out at the newly-announced ban, which drew bipartisan criticism in Congress. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of several transgender service members challenging Trump's policy.
A Pentagon-commissioned study in 2016 showed there are an estimated 1,320 to 6,630 transgender service members in the U.S. military.
It concluded that allowing them to serve openly would have a minimal impact on the readiness and health care costs of the 1.3-million-member military force of the United States.
