So much for equality.

On Tuesday, independent journalist Jordan Schachtel, who publishes The Dossier on Substack, reported a newly-available Department of Defense memo that outlines astonishing special treatment for service members who identify as transgender.

The memo, dated February 1, 2023, originated with the Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

At 34 pages in length, the memo defies simple summary. It also defies truth and common sense.

The document’s appalling nature begins to reveal itself on the first page, where its stated purpose includes issuing guidelines for “culturally sensitive” health care.

Of course, the “culturally sensitive” devil lay in the details.

And the most devilish detail of all appears in Appendix K, item number 7, “Likely impact on readiness and deployability.”

Here we find guidelines for service members who undergo Gender Affirming Hormone Therapy.

According to Appendix K, item number 7, transitioning service members “will be non-deployable during the initial phase of stabilization on GAHT,” and this initial phase “will likely take 6-9 months.”

Furthermore, transition surgeries could require additional delays in readiness.

All told, the memo estimates that service members will complete “Gender Transition” in 9 to 18 months.

Schachtel identified other “highlights” from the memo, such as “cross-sex hormones” and “voice feminization surgery.”

Once we have established that transitioning service members can defer deployment for up to 18 months, however, what remains to shock us?

This is the United States military.

If a service member remains non-deployable, then what “service” exactly does he or she provide?

The report noted that not only can transgender service members get waivers for grooming and uniform standards, they also may receive indefinite waivers for physical fitness standards.

“This waiver often becomes a de facto permanent situation, and the transgender identifying service member just has to renew the exemption request every six months,” Schachtel reported.

The military, it seems, has accepted the lie that compassion for individuals who suffer from gender dysphoria requires hormone treatments and mutilation.

Like many other institutions, the military now promotes transgenderism amid recruiting shortfalls.

It can be misleading to look backward for happier times. Not everything was better in the old days.

For instance, we know enough about PTSD to know that modern service members benefit from modern attitudes toward mental health.

Still, one cannot read stories about “non-deployable” transitioning service members without weeping for the veterans of another era.

The men who fought at Gettysburg and Okinawa had no gender-based deployment deferrals.

Likewise, if the military already cannot meet its recruiting targets, this sort of special treatment will not help matters.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.