WASHINGTON – According to a new directive issued Thursday, the Pentagon will immediately begin removing up to 1,000 openly transgender service members from the military and giving others 30 days to self-identify.
Following Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to impose a ban on transgender people in the military, the Defense Department will begin reviewing medical records to identify others who have not come forward.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who issued the latest memo, expressed his thoughts following the court’s decision.
“No More Trans @ DoD,” Hegseth stated in a post on X. Earlier in the day, before the court ruled, Hegseth stated that his department is abandoning wokeness and weakness.
“No more pronouns,” he stated at a special operations forces conference in Tampa. “No more dudes wearing dresses. We are finished with that s—.
Department officials have stated that it is difficult to determine the exact number of transgender service members, but medical records will reveal those who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, exhibit symptoms, or are receiving treatment.
Those troops would then be involuntarily removed from service. And no one with that diagnosis will be able to enlist. Gender dysphoria occurs when a person’s biological sex does not correspond to their gender identity.
According to officials, as of December 9, 2024, there were 4,240 troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the active duty, National Guard, and reserve. However, they acknowledge that the number could be higher.
There are approximately 2.1 million total troops serving.
The memo released Thursday is similar to one issued in February, but action was stalled at that time due to several lawsuits.
The Supreme Court ruled that the administration can enforce the ban on transgender people in the military while other legal challenges are pending. The court’s three liberal justices stated that they would have put the policy on hold.
The majority and dissenting justices did not explain their votes, which is not uncommon in emergency appeals.
When the initial Pentagon directive was issued earlier this year, it allowed service members 30 days to self-identify. Since then, approximately 1,000 have done so.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that the 1,000 troops who have already self-identified “will begin the voluntary separation process” from the military.
According to the new guidelines, active duty troops have until June 6 to voluntarily identify themselves to the department, while National Guard and Reserve troops have until July 7.
While it may be difficult to see which troops have changed their gender identity in their military records, determining who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria will be easier because it will be part of their medical record, along with any medication they are taking.
According to a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel issues, the total cost of psychotherapy, gender-affirming hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery, and other treatment for service members will be around $52 million between 2015 and 2024.
In an earlier memo, Pentagon officials defended the ban, claiming that “the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.”
The new Pentagon policy would allow for limited exceptions.
This includes transgender personnel seeking to enlist who can demonstrate on a case-by-case basis that they directly support warfighting activities, or if an existing service member diagnosed with gender dysphoria can demonstrate that they support a specific warfighting need, have never transitioned to the gender they identify with, and have been stable in their biological sex for at least 36 months “without clinically significant distress.”
If a waiver is granted, the applicant will continue to be recognized only by their biological sex for bathroom facilities, sleeping quarters, and even official recognition, such as being addressed as “Sir” or “Ma’am.”
