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BumRushDaShow

(156,105 posts)
Sun May 18, 2025, 03:21 AM May 18

As Trump's ban looms, transgender service members defend their fitness to serve [View all]

Source: Axios

11 hours ago


The Pentagon's forced ouster of transgender service members could impact thousands of people and devastate careers, military members and veterans say.

The big picture: While the Trump administration claims its restrictive policies will promote military "readiness," trans soldiers and veterans say the administration's ban is driven by animus rather than evidence — and will mark a substantial loss to the armed services.

Catch up quick: The Pentagon announced earlier this month it would begin removing some 1,000 openly transgender service members and give other active-duty service members 30 days and reservists 60 days to leave or be forced out.

  • While there is no exact count of the number of transgender people serving, officials have said 4,240 service members have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
  • The policy comes amid years of whiplash. But for nearly two decades, "don't ask, don't tell," which banned gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving openly, was the military's policy.


  • What they're saying: Alaina Kupec, a former Naval intelligence officer, told Axios she thinks "this is a path toward don't ask, don't tell again — and it starts with the transgender community."

  • "If we use the logic of the president and the secretary of defense, they can make a decision on who is best to serve based on what they think, not what's based on fact," she said.


  • Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/05/17/trump-transgender-service-members-veterans-ban
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