The United States Defense Department will remove transgender service members unless they obtain a waiver on a case-by-case basis.
Pentagon, in a memo released Wednesday, said transgender troops must meet strict new requirements to remain in service.
The memo, which surfaced in a court filing challenging President Donald Trump’s late January executive order, outlines conditions under which transgender personnel may be allowed to stay.
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The memo stated, “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.”
However, affected troops may seek a waiver if they can demonstrate a “compelling government interest” in their retention that “directly supports warfighting capabilities.” To qualify, they must prove they have never attempted to transition and must show “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.”
A separate Pentagon memo issued earlier this month barred transgender individuals from enlisting and halted gender transition treatments for those already in military service.
The latest directive also disqualifies military applicants who have “a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria” or have undergone “cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as a treatment for gender dysphoria.”
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