Transgender soldiers in the American army had until today to come forward and leave voluntarily. The Trump administration wants the armed forces to now track down and dismiss all soldiers with signs of gender dysphoria.
The dismissal procedure is already underway for approximately a thousand transgender soldiers. The US Department of Defense describes it as a “voluntary separation process”. Affected soldiers say they hope to receive an honorable discharge in this way, plus possibly financial compensation. They fear losing their military pension and health insurance if they do not cooperate.
The ministry says that from Friday it will examine the medical files of all soldiers for gender dysphoria or symptoms thereof. They will be subjected to an “involuntary separation process”. Reservists have one more day to report for voluntary departure.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote in a policy memo in February that transgender soldiers would be treated “with dignity and respect”. Publicly he strikes a different tone. “No more guys in dresses, we’re done with that shit,” he said last month in a speech at a military conference.
The ban on transgender soldiers is being challenged in court. The Supreme Court decided last month that the government may implement the ban on transgender soldiers in the meantime.
What is gender dysphoria?
Gender dysphoria is the medical term for the strong feeling of discontent that people may experience when their birth sex does not match the gender they experience (gender identity). This can lead to serious psychological complaints, such as depression and anxiety.
Trans people are a popular target for the Trump administration
Transgender people make up a very small part of the 2.1 million American soldiers. According to the Pentagon, in December last year, 4,240 soldiers with a known diagnosis of gender dysphoria served in the regular armed forces or as reservists. As a minority group, trans people are central to the offensive against diversity policy and LGBTQIA+ rights of US President Donald Trump.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden decided in 2021 that soldiers could come out as trans at work. Shortly after his inauguration earlier this year, Trump withdrew that decision and issued a new presidential decree. That prohibits transgender people from serving in the armed forces. Their gender identity would “clash with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle, including in private life”.
The Department of Defense issued a ban at the end of February to serve for people who have gender dysphoria or have received medical treatment for it in the past. Medical trajectories for gender transitions of soldiers were stopped.
Members of the US Army have been ordered to only use forms of address (such as “sir” and “ma’am”) and pronouns that match the biological sex of colleagues. Transgender soldiers are no longer allowed to use facilities, such as dormitories and toilets, that do not match.
Legal battle over ban will last a long time
The ban is being challenged by a group of, among others, seven serving transgender soldiers. The main plaintiff in that case is Emily Shilling, a pilot with the US Navy. The lieutenant colonel has almost twenty years of experience and flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Shilling pointed out that her employer finds her fit enough, physically and mentally, to fly the most advanced fighter jets as a test pilot. She estimates that the Navy has invested a total of around 20 million dollars (17.5 million euros) in her training.
A federal court in Washington state ruled at the end of March that the ban could not be implemented. The conservative majority in the Supreme Court reversed that. The case is now on appeal to a federal court and is expected to eventually end up in the Supreme Court again.