Word out of Washington is that a Pentagon policy change allowing transgender members of the military to serve openly is in its final stages of approval.

Originally, we were expecting the change to be announced in March.

Gender dysphoria disqualifies service members under current policy. However, Defense Secretary Ash Carter enacted a de facto moratorium on such dismissals last year as the Defense Department crafted its new guidelines. Officials have been wrestling with several issues regarding transgender troops including recruiting, medical treatment, housing, uniforms and physical fitness standards.

A high-level meeting took place Monday to lay out the terms of repeal and when it will be announced, according to a Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.

The official announcement was the following:

Senior leaders across the services and the (Defense) Department have met recently to consider some of the remaining key issues and are progressing quickly toward submitting recommendations to the Secretary. We acknowledge this process has taken some time, and that there are those that would like to see a policy decision immediately.

It is important that we carefully consider the myriad of medical, privacy and service-unique issues so as to develop a policy that both ensures that service members who meet applicable standards are free to serve openly and addresses the readiness needs of our armed forces.

--Eric Pahon, Pentagon spokesman