Overview

• An August Air Force directive orders separation boards to recommend discharge for any airman diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
• Under the new rules, hearings will be closed and recordings barred, with case files limited to abbreviated post-hearing transcripts.
• The Pentagon estimates that 4,240 service members have been flagged by the policy as eligible for separation under the diagnosis-based criteria.
• Military legal experts and LGBTQ advocacy groups are challenging the policy as unlawful and warn it could set a service-wide precedent.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and supporters frame the guidance as a measure to standardize separations and enforce tougher readiness standards.