The U.S. Army will change the records of transgender troops to indicate only their biological birth sex, as per an internal memo received by Reuters. This is part of a series of steps to dis-enroll transgender troops from the military in response to a Supreme Court decision allowing the Pentagon to implement a ban on transgender service in the military.
The 14-page memo orders commanders to immediately revise administrative systems and personnel records to indicate soldiers’ sex as “unchanging during a person’s life.” It requires the use of pronouns that are consistent with biological sex and stipulates that “intimate spaces” such as bathrooms and living quarters be strictly designated by biological sex.
These new rules repeat a Pentagon memo that was released in late February and outline additional measures to implement the ban, including halting gender-affirming care for transgender troops. Reuters has already reported that the Pentagon intends to start discharging transgender troops who refuse to leave voluntarily by June 6.
There are now around 4,240 active-duty and National Guard transgender service members, although advocacy groups predict higher figures. Jennifer Levi, a senior director at the LGBTQ law group GLAD Law, denounced the policy as “vindictive and aggressive,” warning it compromises military readiness.
The Trump administration revived the transgender military ban in January, overturning a former President Joe Biden policy that had enabled transgender people to serve openly. Public sentiment is still evenly split; a recent Gallup poll indicates 58% of Americans favor transgender military service, a decline from 71% in 2019.
The Army has not yet responded to the details of the memo. The new policies represent a dramatic turnaround in military policy and have sparked arguments over readiness and inclusiveness within the military.