Recently, the United States Military began allowing transgender persons to openly serve. It allows more Americans to enlist and serve their country if they are able, but as of Oct. 7th, the Military is providing sex changing procedures to its soldiers. This may sound great, but I personally believe the contrary.  

For one thing, the procedure is incredibly expensive. To go from male to female can be from $7,000 to $24,000 while the other way around can go from upwards of $50,000. This money, of course, comes mostly from taxes. Overall, the program is going to cost about $8.4 million a year. As someone who is going to be paying taxes in the near future, I would rather have my money go to something else when being given to the military such food, water, supplies or necessary medical treatment.

Speaking of medical treatment, a soldier can only qualify for his or her procedure if it is deemed by a doctor a “medical necessity.” In the military, I don’t believe a sex transition should be considered a “medical necessity.” The person will not die if they go without the procedure, as opposed to the person who was shot, or has shrapnel stuck in them and absolutely must be treated otherwise they may not survive, or risk being forever changed as a result.

Don’t get me wrong—we should provide as much as we can for the men and women fighting for our country, but this is where I think it’s a bit much. We should provide the physical support they need for any injury they have sustained while enlisted and provide mental help to those affected by the horrors of war, but this is a personal issue that has nothing to do with their occupation and they should take care of themselves. I’m not against the procedure nor anyone that undergoes it, but my tax dollars should not provide it for you.