By LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON (AP) — Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, officials said Thursday.
A senior defense official laid out what could be a complicated and lengthy new process aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump’s directive to remove transgender service members from the U.S. military.
The new order to commanders relies on routine annual health checks that service members are required to undergo. Another defense official said the Defense Department has scrapped — for now — plans to go through troops’ health records to identify those with gender dysphoria.
Instead, transgender troops who do not voluntarily come forward could be outed by commanders or others aware of their medical status. Gender dysphoria occurs when a person’s biological sex does not match up with their gender identity.
The defense officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of the new policy. The process raises comparisons to the early “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which at times had commanders or other troops outing gay members of the military who — at the time — were not allowed to serve openly.
Active-duty troops will have until June 6 to voluntarily identify themselves to the Defense Department, and troops in the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7.
The department is offering a financial incentive to those who volunteer to leave. They will receive roughly double the amount of separation pay than those who don’t come forward.
Initially, officials said the Defense Department would begin going through medical records to identify anyone who did not come forward voluntarily. That detail was not included in the new guidance released Thursday.
While the department believes it has the authority to review medical records, it would rather go through a more routine health assessment process, the defense official said. Traditionally, all service members go through a health assessment once a year to determine if they are still medically able to serve.
A new question about gender dysphoria is being added to that assessment. Active-duty troops who do not voluntarily come forward would have to acknowledge their gender dysphoria during that medical check, which could be scheduled months from now.
A unit commander could expedite the health assessment.
Under the new policy, “commanders who are aware of service members in their units with gender dysphoria, a history of gender dysphoria, or symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria will direct individualized medical record reviews of such service members to confirm compliance with medical standards.”
The defense official said it is the duty of the service member and the commander to comply with the new process. The department is confident and comfortable with commanders implementing the policy, and it does not believe they would use the process to take retribution against a service member, the senior defense official said.
It comes after the Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration could enforce the ban on transgender people in the military while other legal challenges proceed. The court’s three liberal justices said they would have kept the policy on hold.
Officials have said that as of Dec. 9, 2024, there were 4,240 troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the active duty, National Guard and Reserve. But they acknowledge the number may be higher.
There are about 2.1 million total troops serving.
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said earlier this month that about 1,000 troops already have identified themselves and “will begin the voluntary separation process” from the military. That can often take weeks.
Trump tried to ban transgender troops during his first term, while allowing those currently serving to stay on. Then-President Joe Biden overturned the ban.
The new policy does not grandfather in those currently serving and only allows for limited waivers or exceptions.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth allege that troops with gender dysphoria don’t meet military standards. Hegseth has tied his opposition to a campaign to rid the department of “wokeness.”
“No More Trans @ DoD,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. In a recent speech to a special operations conference, he said: “No more dudes in dresses. We’re done with that s—.”
