The Pentagon on Thursday released a
statement stating that there has been no change yet to the military's
policy regarding transgender troops.
The message, which was written to
military leaders, was in response to a series of tweets by President
Donald Trump.
The president declared Wednesday that
the military will no longer “accept or allow” transgender troops
to serve “in any capacity.”
(Related: Trump
says military will bar transgender troops.)
The message to service chiefs was
written by Marine General Joseph Dunford, the United States' top
general and the chairman of the military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“I know there are questions about
yesterday's announcement on the transgender policy by the President,”
Dunford
wrote in the message.
“There will be no modifications to
the current policy until the President's direction has been received
by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary has issued
implementation guidance.”
Additionally, Dunford made assurances
that the U.S. military would “treat all of our personnel with
respect.”
After Trump made his announcement on
Wednesday, the White House struggled to answer questions about
implementation of the policy or the timing of the president's tweets.
Estimates on how many transgender people are serving in the military
vary from a few thousand to as many as 15,000.
(Related: Caitlyn
Jenner outraged over Trump tweets about transgender troops.)