The guaranteed benefits and pension help provide a buffer against the inevitable slings and arrows society casts at transgen dered people in general. The issue explored here, however, is how the military deals with transgendered persons lurking in its midst. The prevailing belief of Joe Lunchbox and his spawn is that transsexuals, transvestites and homosexuals are simply minor variations on the same theme. The courts are more discriminating and genteel, however. So when a court is asked to rule on the discharge of a transgendered serviceperson, it uses rationale tailored specifically to the transgender condit ion, as distinct from the reasoning used against gay or lesbian servicepeople.
Few cases exist dealing with the discharge of transgendered service personnel.
The Army defended its policy by arguing that transsexual persons presented a medical problem in that their requirements for hormonal maintenance might not be available at some location where they could be assigned. However, the court declined to r each the merits of the Army's defense in this class action suit because, although the plaintiff had standing to sue, the policy itself was nonreviewable, and thus, nonjusticable. In Leyland , the appellant was an Air Force Reservist who had been honorably discharged after completing sex change surgery. There could thus be no exceptions to the medical disqualification of service personnel who undergo sexual reassignment surgery. Ms. Davis began attending transsexual support groups in and around the Puget Sound area and began cross-dressing occasionally, believing the requirements of therapy demanded it.