text: So, to take your points in turn: 1) There was a study performed by RAND Corp. in 2016 to determine the effects of having transgender people in the military, and the cost was determined to be negligible. So, ultimately, "cutting corners" is not really all that necessary in this situation. 2) That study also examined several other military forces around the world that have transgender people enlisted and found no significant instances of loss of unit cohesion or morale. 3) That same study again noted that the number of transgender people serving between 1320 and 6630. It's tough to get an accurate number because it's not something the DoD really tracks, but some estimates put it above 10,000. That's not proven, though. At any rate, I think the important thing is that for people serving in the military, beyond gender, beyond race, beyond background, beyond sexuality, you are first a soldier. It's one of the first things you learn there. As long as leadership is in place, then any gender, sexuality, or gender identity can serve alongside each other. No, it's not going to be perfect, and yes, there will probably be incidents, but I applaud these folks for their voluntary service. I certainly didn't have the fortitude. Here's the study, if you're interested: https://www.rand.org/news/press/2016/06/30.html