Chairman of the Joint Military Chiefs on Thursday told top military officials that President Trump’s transgender ban tweet did not change anything in the military’s transgender policy.

In a message that was sent to all chiefs of all military branches and senior enlisted leaders stating that the military will continue to “treat all of our personnel with respect ”.

“In the meantime, we will continue to treat all of our personnel with respect. As importantly, given the current fight and the challenges we face, we will all remain focused on accomplishing our assigned missions,” he continued.

President Trump’s Wednesday announcement that transgender troops would no longer be allowed to serve in any capacity, has sparked a growing controversy among the trans community and concern for those currently serving.

The office of the Secretary of Defense backed up Dunford’s message, with spokeswoman Dana White saying “The Department of Defense is awaiting formal guidance from the White House as a follow-up to the commander in chief’s announcement on military service by transgender personnel, we will provide detailed guidance to the department in the near future for how this policy change will be implemented.

“The Department will continue to focus on our mission of defending our nation and ongoing operations against our foes while ensuring all service members are treated with respect,” she added.

Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff said that Dunford is “exactly right” and that the Pentagon would not just make policy changes because of a tweet.

Itunuoluwa