Those who are capable should serve, with the understanding that no special accomodations will be made. Anatomical males will serve with anatomical males and anatomical females will serve with anatomical females.
I agree
There is a thing, a real thing, in the service
Military Bearing
The Code
Dress Right Dress
It has to do with uniformity. Standards are held with high regard.
There is a reason for wearing the uniform, standing at attention, marching. The reason is uniformity. "Uni" being the goal.
We don't see soldiers that are hippies, farmers or bankers, we see soldiers. You look at the ranks of troops and they all look the same (uniforms), are meant to walk the same (marching) and act the same (drills).
Boot camp is designed to take your individuality and suppress it in favor of uniformity.
Any lifestyle that breaks the uniformity of the ranks is dangerous to military conditioning. In combat, a flair for individual expression can not only get you and your squad killed it can compromise certain operations.
There is nothing wrong with personal expression but the military is not the time nor the place. If there is a problem with conforming to military standard one should not join. It is wrong to expect the established whole to change methodology that works to accommodate a fraction of the whole. In this case, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
The military is not a social group. It is an establishment of a fighting force with rules, regulations, codes and standards. Its not supposed to accommodate so you can serve, you accommodate so you can serve.
Tom, too much clarity and common sense
