In a historic move, the Pentagon on Thursday lifted its ban on allowing transgender men and women to serve openly in the military. The Pentagon does not have a precise count of how many transgender men and women are in the services now, because they face discharge if they reveal their identities. In recent weeks, Carter has met with military chiefs to hear concerns and suggestions to ease the process. But officials said the full policy must be completely implemented no later than July 1, 2017.william.hennigan@latimes.comTwitter: @wjhennALSOWhy do transgender people join the military in such high numbers? The Palm Center, a research institute based in San Francisco, estimates that there are about 15,500 transgender members of the U.S. military, "making the Department of Defense the largest employer of transgender people in America."

Source: Los Angeles Times June 30, 2016 17:47 UTC