Latest news with #PeriodicHealthAssessment
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Military adds gender dysphoria screening to troops' annual physical amid transgender ban
The Defense Department will start screening troops for gender dysphoria during their annual physicals as part of the agency-wide effort to kick transgender service members out of the U.S. military, according to a new memo published Thursday. The document, signed by the Pentagon's acting head of personnel and readiness, orders senior officials to 'immediately commence the identification of affected Service members' via the Defense Department's Periodic Health Assessment. 'Commanders who are aware of service members in their units with gender dysphoria, a history of gender dysphoria or symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria will direct individualized medical record reviews of such service members to confirm compliance with medical standards,' the memo states, referring to the diagnosis of when someone does not identify with their biological sex. Upon taking office in January, President Trump revoked a Biden-era order that allowed transgender members to serve in the military and issued an executive order declaring gender dysphoria 'inconsistent' with the military's mission of maintaining a fighting force ready to deploy, effectively banning transgender troops. Administration officials have not given any explanation as to how having gender dysphoria makes someone unfit for military service. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quickly moved to implement the policy at the Pentagon, but the directive was stalled after it was challenged in the courts. But earlier this month, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to begin enforcing the transgender troop ban, with Hegseth directing the Pentagon to swiftly start removing such individuals from the military in early June if they do not leave on their own. Around 1,000 troops who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will start the voluntary separation process, the Pentagon's chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said last week. Defense officials, however, estimate that there are far more service members affected by gender dysphoria than the 1,000 who self-identified, placing the number at 4,200, a Pentagon official told reporters Thursday. Under Hegseth's memo, active-duty transgender service members can opt to separate voluntarily until June 6 and could be eligible for voluntary separation pay. The deadline for reserve forces is July 7. If such service members do not do so by then, they will receive a lower severance package and can be forced out, the official said. To determine who might not be leaving on their own accord, the military will use troops' annual health assessment to attempt to root out individuals, with questions about gender dysphoria added to the process. Unit commanders can also flag service members they oversee for 'symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Good luck figuring out the Air Force's algorithm for shaving waivers
The Department of the Air Force's process for determining if airmen and Space Force guardians should receive medical waivers for shaving is about as indecipherable as the infamous flow chart about counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan from years ago. A document from a Louisiana Air National Guard unit that was posted on Reddit includes the Air Force's 'algorithm' — a 20-step flowchart — for determining if airmen should get shaving waivers for Pseudofolliculitis Barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition made worse by shaving. The flowchart provides a breakdown of which symptoms are common for PFB and which might indicate another shaving issue. It also includes several possible courses of action, including prescribing hydrocortisone to treat inflammation, allowing airmen and guardians to use electric clippers instead of razors to keep their facial hair slightly longer, and, in some cases, laser therapy. But it can be difficult for the layman to trace a path on the chart from diagnosis to treatment, and it is not clear what the requirements are for issuing a shaving waiver. An Air Force official confirmed to Task & Purpose on Wednesday that the flow chart is authentic, but it was meant for medical providers, not airmen. The flowchart is intended to help medical providers determine if airmen and guardians have PFB or another type of skin irritation that could be caused by local factors, such as a high mineral content in the water or the dryness of the air, the official said. Once the medical providers have diagnosed the issue, they can decide whether to issue a waiver or pursue an alternative medical treatment. Common in up to 60% of Black men, PFB is a condition in which facial hair grows back into the skin, causing inflammation, according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. Shaving 'sharpens the ends of the hairs like a spear,' exacerbating the condition, the college's website says. 'A 100% effective treatment is to let the beard grow. Once the hairs get to be a certain length they will not grow back into the skin,' the website says. But U.S. military leaders have long maintained that service members need to be clean-shaven to wear oxygen and gas masks, even though Great Britain and other countries permit their troops to have beards. Last year, Congress required the Air Force secretary to brief lawmakers about a potential pilot program that would allow airmen and guardians to grow beards. Then, in January, the Air Force announced that all airmen and guardians with medical profiles for shaving would need to be evaluated by a healthcare professional within 90 days of their next annual Periodic Health Assessment to receive another shaving waiver. The change, which does not apply to religious accommodation shaving waivers, reversed a 2020 policy that allowed airmen and guardians diagnosed with PFB to be issued waivers for five years without annual renewals. Shortly before the policy update was announced, Air Force Chief of Staff David Allvin announced the service would conduct more formations and uniform inspections and review policies and standards that look at 'waivers and the exceptions.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced a review in March that will look at how all the military services' physical fitness, body composition, and grooming standards have changed over the past decade. That review 'includes but is not limited to beards,' he wrote. 'High standards are what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet,' Hegseth wrote in the March 12 memo. 'The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose. We are made stronger and more disciplined with high, uncompromising, and clear standards.' Top enlisted leader of Air Force Special Operations Command fired amid investigation The Marine in one of the most famous recruiting commercials is now in Congress 75th Ranger Regiment wins 2025 Best Ranger Competition Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer reenlists in Marine Reserve Air Force pilots get a new way to pee at 30,000 feet
