By Jessica Botelho | The National News Desk
A new Pentagon policy just made it harder for transgender troops to challenge their dismissal from the military, marking another step in enforcing the Trump administration’s ban.
That’s according to a memo The Associated Press obtained on Friday.
Citing the memo, which was sent to all military branches on October 8, the AP reported that “if military separation boards decide to allow transgender service members to remain in uniform, commanders can override that decision.”
The memo, which advocates said was made available to troops last week, also sets up an additional hurdle of requiring that trans service members appear before separation boards in uniforms that match the gender assigned to them at birth. If they fail to do so, their absence can be used against them.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have moved away from diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts as a way to make the military the “world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.”
In January, Trump signed an executive order, Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness, noting that anyone who has been diagnosed with, has a history of, or shows symptoms of gender dysphoria — as well as those who have undergone cross-sex hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery — is disqualified from military service.
“Success in this existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the requisite warrior ethos, and the pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion,” according to the order.”
Four months later, the Pentagon announced it started moving as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender troops out of the military and gave others who have yet to openly identify as transgender 30 days to remove themselves.
MEMO: Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness: Additional Implementation Guidance on Administrative Separations – October 2025 (pdf)
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