Department of Defense Tells Commanders to Identify Troops With Gender Dysphoria

The troops’ medical records will be scrutinized, and they could be discharged.
Department of Defense Tells Commanders to Identify Troops With Gender Dysphoria
The Pentagon building, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, in Washington in an undated aerial photo. U.S. Air Force/Getty Images
Zachary Stieber
Updated:
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The Department of Defense has directed commanders to identify service members with a history of gender dysphoria who have not come forward under a new policy preventing people who identify as transgender from serving in the military.

“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” under the military’s readiness program, Jules W. Hurst III, a Pentagon official, wrote in a memorandum dated May 15.
President Donald Trump has said that people who express a “false ‘gender identity’” cannot meet the standards for military service, and defense officials later promulgated a new policy that bars troops who have or are experiencing gender dysphoria from serving.

At least some of the troops with gender dysphoria, characterized by the belief that one’s gender identity does not match one’s biological sex, are undergoing or have completed transgender procedures in an attempt to align their sex with their gender identity.

The Supreme Court recently stayed a district court order that had been blocking the policy. Officials said on May 8 that about 1,000 members have come forward to identify themselves as having gender dysphoria.

Active-duty troops have until June 6 to identify themselves as being unable to serve because of gender dysphoria. The deadline is July 7 for reserves.

During that period, military departments will seek to identify affected troops who choose not to identify themselves, a senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters in a call on May 15.

“Commanders who are aware of service members in their units who meet the criteria of this policy will direct individualized medical record reviews,” the official said. “Any individuals who meet the criteria of the policy and do not voluntarily identify themselves and go through the voluntary separation process will be processed involuntarily unless they are granted a waiver.”

Troops who are involuntarily separated may lose certain benefits that they would receive if they come forward, according to the Department of Defense.

An estimated 4,200 troops have gender dysphoria. The force has about 2.1 million troops.

The military uses its readiness program to make sure troops are qualified and fit for duty. Medical evaluations are conducted through the program periodically, including an annual health screening.

When asked about concerns that commanders could abuse the process, the official told reporters in the call that leaders are confident in commanders’ exercising their discretion and protecting the privacy of troop health information.

“Any negative action that they would take to one of their assigned service members that would be retaliatory would be completely unacceptable regardless of whether it concerned this policy or any other policy,” the official added later.

Troops who are discharged under the new policy are eligible for up to $125,000 in separation payments, depending on their rank and how long they’ve been serving.

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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