Article snippet: U.S. the Pentagon to ban transgender individuals from openly serving in the U.S. military. The directive gave the Department of Defense six months to develop an implementation plan that will go into effect on March 23, 2018. Trump also directed DOD to stop gender transition-related surgeries with exceptions for individuals whose procedures are underway. Trump's guidance effectively returns the Pentagon to its policy before June 2016, when then–Defense Secretary Ash Carter allowed transgender individuals to serve openly and permitted the funding of gender transition treatments and surgeries. The president did not outline a policy for transgender individuals currently serving, leaving open the possibility that some transgender service members could keep their jobs. At the end of August, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that transgender service members will be allowed to continue to serve in the military while the Pentagon conducts its implementation study. "Plaintiffs’ lawsuit challenging military service requirements is premature and should be dismissed for many reasons, including that the Defense Department is actively reviewing such service requirements, as the president ordered, and because none of the Plaintiffs have established that they will be impacted by current policies on military service," said DOJ spokeswoman Lauren Ehrsam in a statement. The plaintiffs in the case now have until Oct. 16, 2017 to respond to the government's filing, according t... Link to the full article to read more