US Army bans transgenders from joining military after Trump’s order

The US Army on Friday (local time) officially confirmed that it will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military, days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban their entry into the force. The US Army also said it would stop providing gender-affirming care for service members.

“The US Army will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members,” it said in a post.

The announcement came after Trump signed the order on January 27 stating that expressing “gender identity” that is “inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service”. The order directed the Pentagon to determine a policy for transgender service members within 30 days, according to CBS News.

“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 US Army said.

Gender dysphoria is a feeling of distress that results from a mismatch between a person’s biological sex and their gender identity.

The US Army also said that individuals with gender dysphoria have volunteered to serve our country and will be treated with dignity and respect.

The announcement came as Trump promised to launch a crackdown on the “woke culture”, a key campaign promise in his re-election campaign. Woke is a term for those focused on racial and social justice but which is used by conservatives to disparage progressive policies.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had temporarily put a hold on recruits who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and paused all gender-affirming care, as per a February 7 memo, CBS News reported.

The US Army’s announcement also came after Trump signed sweeping executive orders that said the government only recognised “two sexes – male and female” and another banning transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump announced he would ban transgender troops from serving in the military. He did not fully follow through with that ban – his administration froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to remain.

The US President had asserted that the military was required to focus on “decisive and overwhelming victory” without being burdened by the “tremendous medical costs and disruption” of having transgender troops.

Joe Biden overturned the decision when he took office in 2021.

The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, according to Department of Defence data. While transgender rights advocates say there are as many as 15,000 transgender service members, officials say the number is in the low thousands.

(with inputs from Reuters)