Note: This is a rebroadcast from earlier this year.
The American military permits people to serve regardless of sexual orientation, but there are still policies precluding military service based on gender identity.
About 15,000 transgender people currently serve in the American military in violation of the rules. The United States lags behind many other Western nations that allow transgender people to serve openly, but Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is pushing for change.
Host Frank Stasio talks with KUOW military reporter Patricia Murphy about her reporting as part of the American Homefront Project.