The U.S. Department of Defense is moving forward with plans to allow transgender troops to openly serve in the military. Top Pentagon officials will be meeting on Monday to discuss the strategy for lifitng the current ban.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Ash Carter sent a memo out to top military personnel and civilians alike formally outlining his plan to lift the ban. As reported on USA Today, the memo states that "The working group will start with the assumption that transgender persons can serve openly without adverse impact on military effectiveness and readiness unless and except where objective, practical impediments are identified, and shall present its recommendations to me within 180 days." 

On July 13, the U.S. Department of Defense released a statement regarding the policy in place which said, “At a time when our troops have learned from experience that the most important qualification for service members should be whether they're able and willing to do their job, our officers and enlisted personnel are faced with certain rules that tell them the opposite.”

Acknowledging that currently serving transgender members of the military have been “hurt” by what he called “an outdated, confusing, inconsistent approach that's contrary to our value of service and individual merit,” Carter said that the department would “create a working group to study over the next six months the policy and readiness implications of welcoming transgender persons to serve openly.”

Ashley Broadway-Mack, the president of the American Military Partner Association, an organization that advocates for LGBT military families, expressed enthusiasm about the news.

“We are thrilled the Department of Defense will finally be taking the necessary steps to allow our transgender service members to serve openly and honestly,” said Broadway-Mack, as reported in the New York Times, which noted that the number of transgender people serving in the military is estimated to be over 15,000.