Navy Requires All Sailors to Undergo Transgender Education by July 2017

[MikeWB]

An all-Navy message sent out Tuesday says that all sailors will be required to undergo transgender behavioral education by July 2017.

Starting Nov. 1, the training will educate sailors about the Navy's new transgender policy that allows transgenders to serve in the military, Military.com reported.

"This training will emphasize policies and expectations of personal behavior," the message states.

It is unclear what exactly is in these training sessions yet, but the Navy will soon send out messages with more information.

In the meantime, leadership is putting together a commander's tool kit that will guide training, said Lt. Jessica Anderson, a spokeswoman for Naval Personnel Command, to Military.com.

"Service members are expected to maintain standards of conduct and treat each other with dignity and respect," Anderson said. "Training for sailors will be conducted by command triads via mobile training teams or DVD with a facilitation guide if the unit is in a remote area and unable to receive face-to-face training. There will also be webinars for COs to ask questions prior to delivering training to their commands."

The training deadline is set to coincide with the date that the Navy will start accepting transgender recruits, July 1, 2017.

The military is creating ground rules for servicemembers who want to change their gender while serving and is requiring that all transgendered people use the bathroom associated with their preferred gender.

Anderson said that leadership will crack down on any mistreatment or harassment of transgender individuals.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter repealed the ban on transgenders serving in the military back in June.

"This is the right thing to do for our people and for the force," Carter said at a Pentagon press conference. "We can't allow barriers unrelated to a person's qualifications prevent us from recruiting and retaining those who can best accomplish the mission."