Transgender Troops Given June Deadline to Leave Military
Trans service members have until June 6 to "voluntarily" leave the military or face forcible discharge and lost benefits.
Transgender people in the military have until June 6 to “out” themselves and leave their respective branches if they wish to be eligible for voluntary separation pay, according to a Pentagon memo issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Transgender individuals in the reserves have until July 7 to do the same.
The memo came in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to begin enforcing the ban on transgender military personnel even as the policy itself is being challenged in the courts.
The high court did not rule on the merits of the policy, including whether it is constitutional or whether it is motivated by anti-transgender animus, as lower courts have previously found.
“In accordance with policy now reinstated, service members who have a current diagnosis or history of or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily,” Hegseth wrote.
Hegseth also noted that those who do not identify themselves within the “self-identification eligibility window” will be involuntarily discharged, in accordance with Pentagon policy.
That policy aligns with an executive order from President Donald Trump that declares transgender identity to be “incompatible” with military readiness.
According to The Guardian, Pentagon officials have said that, as of December 9, 2024, there were 4,240 service members — out of 2 million overall — who had been identified as transgender in active duty, National Guard, and reserve service.
About 1,000 came out publicly as transgender between February 26 and March 26, the deadline that Pentagon officials had initially set for those wishing to qualify for separation pay. However, that deadline was disrupted by lower federal court rulings blocking the Pentagon from enforcing the ban.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement that the Pentagon would begin the discharge process for those 1,000.
Rae Timberlake, a spokesperson for the transgender military advocacy group Sparta Pride, and one of the 1,000 who chose to self-identify as transgender, warned that service members who do not take advantage of the buyout offer could lose benefits it took years for them to accrue.
“There’s no guarantee to access to your pension or severance or an honorable discharge,” Timberlake said.
At the same time, Timberlake disputed the Trump administration’s characterization of the process as “voluntary.”
“This is not voluntary,” they said. “This is a decision that folks are coming to under duress. These are 1,000 transgender troops that would be serving if the conditions were not created to force them into making a decision for their own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of their family long-term.”
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