A new Pentagon directive released Thursday directs that nearly 30 openly transgender service members be removed from the military. It also gives transgender individuals who have not yet declared their identity a XNUMX-day period to leave the military.
The new regulation comes after Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision that allowed the Trump administration to enforce its ban on transgender military members. Defense Department officials said they will begin a follow-up process by reviewing medical records to identify other transgender service members who have not yet declared their identities.
According to information provided by authorities, there are 9 active duty, national guard and reserve service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria as of December 2024, 4. While this number represents a small portion of the military's total of 240 million personnel, it is acknowledged that the actual number could be higher.
The new memorandum, released Thursday, echoes a similar one sent in February, but no action was taken at the time because of the various lawsuits filed. The Pentagon’s initial directive, issued earlier this year, gave soldiers 30 days to declare their transgender identity. In that time, nearly a thousand soldiers have openly identified as transgender.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that these 1,000 soldiers who have declared their identities will "begin the process of voluntarily separating" from the military.
This latest move follows a series of policies by the Trump administration targeting transgender military members and veterans. After Trump took office and issued gender-focused executive orders, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also began restricting healthcare for LGBTQ+ veterans. These restrictions included phasing out treatments for gender dysphoria, starting with the rescission of VA Directive 1341.
