The Pentagon is planning to lift its ban on openly transgender service personnel, US officials announced.

Ash Carter, Defence Secretary has has called the norms outdated and harmful to the military. The move comes after the US Army Secretary, Eric Fanning, formally took office. Fanning is the first openly gay person to appointed as the top civilian official in any branch of the American military.

The president of the American Military Partner Association, Ashley Broadway-Mack, said that, "Our transgender service members and their families are breathing a huge sigh of relief."

"If reports are correct, I believe Secretary Carter has put the political agenda of a departing administration ahead of the military's readiness crisis," he said.

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, an estimated 15,000 transgender people serve in the US military.

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