Pentagon Expected To Repeal Ban On Transgender People Next Month

The Pentagon plans to announce the repeal of its ban on openly serving transgender service members next month, U.S. defense officials said.

The repeal would come five years after a 2011 decision to end the U.S. military's ban on gays and lesbians serving openly, despite fears - which proved unfounded - that such a move would be too great a burden in wartime and would undermine readiness.

The disclosure came the same week that the U.S. Army formally welcomed its new secretary, Eric Fanning, who became the first openly gay leader of a military service branch in U.S. history.