The Department of Defense is cutting and disqualifying members of the military who suffer from gender dysphoria.
A new memo from the Pentagon directs a review of service members with past diagnoses of gender dysphoria or who identify as transgender. The memo was revealed in a Wednesday court filing in a legal case challenging the United States military’s move to disqualify people suffering from gender dysphoria from service.
“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 says, according to Axios.
Waivers will be granted on a “case-by-case basis” in situations where there is “a compelling government interest in retaining the service member that directly supports warfighting capabilities,” the memo says. Those who apply for a waiver must have never tried to transition.
Waiver applicants must also have demonstrated “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 military’s new rules on gender dysphoria fall in line with regulations against service members who suffer from a range of conditions that could harm readiness, such as major depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorders.
The memo is a result of executive action President Donald Trump took on his first day in office revoking an order from former President Joe Biden. Biden’s order, signed on his first day in office, banned “[d]iscrimination on the basis of gender identity” in the military.
Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed that the military stop transgender treatments and surgeries for service members.
“Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused, and all unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused,” the memo said.