The United States military will start separating transgender service members from active duty within 30 days unless they qualify for a waiver, according to a newly released Pentagon memo.
According to the AFP, the policy follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January, which aims to reinstate restrictions on transgender individuals serving in the armed forces.
“Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria will be processed for separation from military service,” the memo states.
However, the directive allows for exceptions. Transgender troops may be eligible for a waiver if they can demonstrate that retaining them in service is of “compelling government interest” and directly contributes to military operations.
To qualify for a waiver, personnel must show that they have not attempted gender transition and have maintained “36 consecutive months of stability in the service member’s sex without clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.”
The decision marks the latest chapter in a series of policy shifts regarding transgender military service. In 2016, under President Barack Obama, the Pentagon lifted a longstanding ban, allowing transgender troops to serve openly. The policy also set a framework for new transgender recruits to enlist starting in July 2017.
However, when Trump first took office in 2017, his administration postponed that timeline before ultimately moving to reinstate restrictions. After a lengthy legal battle, Trump’s policy—barring most transgender individuals from serving—officially took effect in April 2019.
In 2021, President Joe Biden reversed those restrictions shortly after assuming office, arguing that all qualified Americans should have the opportunity to serve.
Trump’s recent executive order revives his earlier stance, stating: “Expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
The renewed restrictions reflect broader political divisions over transgender rights in the United States. In recent years, states with Republican and Democratic leadership have taken sharply different approaches to issues such as medical care for transgender individuals and access to LGBTQ+ literature in public spaces.
