Is identity a valid ground for discharge? Hundreds of trans women in the US military face exit after new executive order
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Official Pentagon figures place the current number of transgender service members at roughly 4,200, though independent estimates suggest the figure could be closer to 10,000.
According to the new order, a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria is deemed 'incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service'.
The directive argues that 'the Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology' and claims the new standards will ensure personnel are 'free of medical conditions or physical defects that may reasonably be expected to require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization.'
It further asserts that 'a man's assertion that he is a woman … is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.
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According to a Gallup survey in February 2025, only 58 percent of Americans supported allowing openly transgender personnel to serve, down from 71 percent in 2019 and 66 percent in 2021.
Policy on transgender service members has shifted repeatedly over the past decade. The Obama administration lifted the longstanding ban in 2016, permitting access to gender‑related medical care.
President Trump's first‑term order in 2017 re‑imposed restrictions on new recruits, though it left some exceptions for those already in uniform. President Joe Biden overturned that policy in 2021, restoring the right to serve.
The 2025 order now removes virtually all exceptions and directs bases to begin separation proceedings against personnel diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
A federal judge initially blocked the latest ban, citing possible constitutional violations, but the US Supreme Court lifted that injunction in April, allowing the policy to proceed while litigation continues.
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The Pentagon states that affected service members remain eligible for benefits, including separation pay, higher for those opting for a voluntary exit.
Shift in political leadership has cast a shadow on the lives and careers of transgender women in the US military which remains suspended in uncertainty. Many who have dedicated years to service now face involuntary discharge, unclear benefit entitlements, and the emotional toll of being forced out not for performance, but for identity.
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