Overview

• The ban, authorized by Executive Order 14183, deems any service member with current or past gender dysphoria unfit for duty and offers no grandfather clause or reinstatement path.
• Under new Pentagon guidance, commanders must review medical records and enforce a June 6 deadline for transgender troops to request voluntary separation or face administrative discharge.
• Affected personnel will receive separation codes barring them from military transition programs and potentially limiting future defense or national security careers.
• Senator Tammy Duckworth and 22 Senate Democrats have called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to halt the purge, arguing the policy lacks evidence of readiness threats.
• Service members have launched lawsuits challenging the ban’s legality and cite a 2016 RAND study that found no negative impact on unit cohesion or operational effectiveness.