Pentagon orders removal of 1,000 transgender troops under new directive

The Pentagon will begin the immediate removal of up to 1,000 openly transgender service members from the US military, according to a new directive issued on May 8.

The directive, issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, follows a recent Supreme Court decision that allows the Trump administration to enforce a long-disputed ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

Under the new policy, service members who have not yet disclosed their transgender status will have 30 days to self-identify. The Department of Defense will also begin reviewing medical records to identify personnel diagnosed with gender dysphoria or receiving gender-affirming treatment. Those identified will be involuntarily discharged and barred from enlisting in the future. Secretary Hegseth made his stance clear in the wake of the court’s decision. “No More Trans @ DoD,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Earlier that day, speaking at a special operations forces conference in Tampa, Hegseth declared: “No more pronouns. No more dudes in dresses. We’re done with that s---.” While the Pentagon has not released a precise count of transgender service members, officials estimate that as of December 9, 2024, at least 4,240 personnel across active duty, National Guard, and Reserve forces had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The actual figure may be higher within the military’s total force of approximately 2.1 million troops. The May 8 directive largely mirrors a policy first introduced in February, which was postponed due to legal challenges. 

The Supreme Court’s recent decision allows the ban to take effect while those cases proceed. The court's three liberal justices dissented, favoring a continued block on the policy, though neither side explained their votes, which is typical in emergency rulings. During an earlier self-identification window, about 1,000 troops came forward. According to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, those individuals “will begin the voluntary separation process” under the new directive. The updated timeline gives active-duty personnel until June 6 to self-identify, while members of the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7. 

The military plans to rely on medical records to identify additional individuals who may be affected. From 2015 to 2024, the Department of Defense spent approximately $52 million on psychotherapy, hormone treatments, surgeries, and other forms of gender-affirming care, a defense official said on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon has defended the policy in previous memos, arguing: “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 directive includes limited exemptions. Transgender individuals may be allowed to enlist or remain in the military if they support a warfighting function, have not transitioned, and can demonstrate stability in their biological sex for 36 consecutive months “without clinically significant distress.” 

Even in cases where waivers are granted, affected personnel will be recognised only by their biological sex in terms of access to facilities and formal address—such as being referred to as “Sir” or “Ma’am.”

By Naila Huseynova