Department of Defense to Begin Separation Process For Transgender Service Members
By Tiffany Williams –
On Thursday, the Pentagon addressed a Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for the Trump administration to enforce a Department of Defense policy prohibiting transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.
The Department of Defense said the Secretary of Defense is encouraged by the Supreme Court’s order staying the lower court’s injunction, allowing the Department of Defense to carry out its policies associated with “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.”
DOD on Thursday issued guidance to the Military Departments and Services ending the accession of individuals with a current diagnosis or history of, or symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria and all non-medically necessary treatment.
About 1,000 Service members, the DID said, have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Those individuals DOD said, will begin the voluntary separation process, and DOD is extending the voluntary separation period for 30 days for Active Component Service members, and 60 days for Reserve Component Service members, and proceed with processing for involuntary separations after those periods.
After taking office in 2021, then-President Joe Biden signed an executive order that allowed transgender troops to serve openly in the military. On Jan. 20 of this year, President Donald Trump revoked Biden’s order and issued another order requiring Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to put into effect a ban on “individuals with gender dysphoria” – the medical term for the psychological distress caused by a conflict between the sex someone is assigned at birth and that person’s gender identity.
