In a startling and frank admission, Space Force Gen. DeAnna M. Burt told a recent Department of Defense (DOD) LGBT Pride event that access to “gender-affirming” care takes precedence over an officer’s qualifications.
Burt mentioned that several states have moved to protect minors from transgender surgeries, along with puberty blockers and certain hormone treatments. This, she confessed, ranks higher than job performance and qualifications when choosing officers for certain jobs.
Space Force general prioritizes ‘gender-affirming care’ over actual qualifications https://t.co/HoHZ3xuIGX
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 15, 2023
The general said that she considers whether the troops and families feel “safe” in their new assignments regarding state laws on these controversial procedures.
Burt began her diatribe by stating that “transformational cultural change requires leadership from the top, and we do not have time to wait.” She referenced over 400 state-level laws that she claimed “could be dangerous” for military members and their families.
She even asserted that these laws could affect “the readiness of the force as a whole.”
Burt admitted choosing “less qualified” candidates over a preferred candidate over “personal circumstances.”
The Space Force general claimed to put qualifications first before adding that she also looks at the family as “an important factor.” Burt said that if the family would not feel safe “being themselves” at a particular location, they could be denied the promotion.
This extends to members not having access to “critical health care” due to state laws. In that case, she told the Pentagon gathering that “I am compelled to consider a different candidate, and, perhaps, less qualified.”
Though the Pentagon refused to elaborate on Burt’s remarks to Fox News, the Space Force’s public affairs office doubled down on what she revealed. An official told the outlet that the branch must ensure that members are not worried “about the health and safety of their families.”
They confirmed that the Department of the Air Force factors laws concerning LGBT issues into personnel decisions. They consider how these state statutes “may affect LGBT Airmen, Guardians, and/or their LGBT dependents in different ways.”
In other words, the U.S. military now passes judgment on state laws concerning everything from mutilation surgeries on minor children to abortion in assigning personnel. Over 20 states now restrict or ban so-called “gender-affirming” surgeries on youth.
