(NewsNation) — A memo sent to Defense Department leaders Thursday states those with gender dysphoria are no longer eligible for military service.
This document, written by Darin S. Selnick, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, states the department must identify troops who have been diagnosed with, or are being treated for, gender dysphoria by March 26. From there, the Department of Defense has 30 days to remove those troops from service. They will be honorably discharged except if their record warrants otherwise, Selnick said.
Military members with gender dysphoria can get a waiver “on a case-by-case basis, provided there is a compelling Government interest in accessing the applicant that directly supports warfighting capabilities,” Selnick wrote. To get this waiver, service members have to prove they never tried to transition and demonstrate they have lived in line with their birth sex “without clinically significant distress” for 36 months.
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The memo was filed as part of a lawsuit responding to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender troops from serving in the military.
Selnick, in the memo, claimed that military service by people with gender dysphoria is “not clearly consistent with the interests of national security.”
However, organizations such as the American Medical Association have said there is no “medically valid reason,” including a gender dysphoria diagnosis, to exclude transgender people from military service.
A RAND Corp. study from 2016 that was commissioned by the Pentagon found that allowing transgender people to serve demonstrated no negative effect on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness or readiness.
“This is an unconscionable ban that forces the removal of talented service members who put their lives on the line for our nation and slams the door on qualified patriots who meet every standard and want nothing more than to serve their country,” Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD, said in a statement.
Transgender people have been eligible to serve in the military since 2016, but the Trump administration attempted to issue a ban in 2019, though it was reversed in 2021.
“Transgender Americans have served openly and honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces for nearly a decade. Thousands of transgender troops are currently serving and are fully qualified for the positions in which they serve,” SPARTA Pride, an advocacy group for transgender service members, said in a statement. “No policy will ever erase transgender Americans’ contribution to history, warfighting, or military excellence.”
The Associated Press and NewsNation partner The HIll contributed to this report.
