The new department regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender, and they will be able to get medically necessary transition-related care authorized by law, said the officials.
A spokesman for the U.S.-backed coalition said coalition forces will provide support during the operation “for early warning and situational awareness.”
Maj. Gen. William Walker, commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, was tapped Friday to become the House’s first African American sergeant-at-arms as Congress sorts through the grave security failings revealed by the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The one-day gathering was the first of three planned international conferences ahead of a May 1 deadline for the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in South Korea with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as part of their regional tour aimed at boosting America’s Asian alliances to better deal with growing challenges from China and North Korea.