I remember the "old" days in the Army where Women served in non-combat roles and to the most part remained segregated from their male counterparts. I am also old enough to remember the ending of segregation by Race. In my time in the Army, merely being a Homosexual would get you bounced.
Times change, and often the US Military leads the way in those social issues.
It was the leader in de-segregation....because as a Military Organization it follows Orders given it by the Commander in Chief, in our case the President.
Every change in social issues the Military has taken, has had effects upon Unit Cohesion, Good Order and Discipline, general effectiveness of the unit, and financial cost. That is not debatable as it is a fact.
Also, overtime the Military has found a way to carry out its mission and in general has overcome those negative effects of social change but it takes time.
The Military is made up of individuals who come together to form well disciplined, organized, and effective Units with defined goals, missions, and standards.
There was resistance to de-segregation, acceptance of Gays and Lesbians, differing Religions, and in time this Transgender thing will be worked out.
In each change....Blacks were found to be just as able and effective Soldiers as Whites, Women were found to be capable, Gays and Lesbians too have found their place in the Military as is right and proper. So will the Transgendered of our country.
Trump's action is not going to stop that....it might very well act as a catalyst to hurry this along even if it is not his motive in doing what he has.
What we do need to see happen is our Military get back to what it exists for....protecting this Nation, preparing for Wars, and being a close knit organization where wearing the Uniform is a respected thing to do and is seen by all of our Citizens to be an honorable duty.
Change is never easy when it comes to social i issues but I have no doubt the Military will lead the way even though at times there is much difficulty in doing so.
What we cannot allow is for the Military to prevented from accomplishing its duties because of improperly administered change. Our Troops spend far too much time in non-Mission training and far too little time in preparing for their actual mission.
The US Army went from picking up cigarette butts on Police Call to having to sit through hours upon hours of "training" on social issues.
SecDef Mattis has gone on record about that problem.
It will be very interesting over the next few weeks and months to see how Trump's decision will be received by the Military itself. What will be more telling is how they implement that Decision once it is formally handed down to them to carry out.