(Brett Rowland, The Center Square) The Pentagon moved ahead with plans Thursday to begin the voluntary separation process for about 1,000 service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria after a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to ban transgender military service while a legal challenge moves forward in the lower courts.
“The Secretary is encouraged by the Supreme Court’s order staying the lower court’s injunction, allowing the Department of Defense to carry out its policies associated with ‘Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,'” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Defense will issue guidance to the Military Departments and Services “ending the accession of individuals with a current diagnosis or history of, or symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria and all non-medically necessary treatment.”
About 1,000 service members self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to the Pentagon.
The department will extend the voluntary separation period for 30 days for Active Component Service members, and 60 days for Reserve Component Service members, and proceed with processing for involuntary separations after those periods, according to a memo.
Shortly after taking over at the Pentagon, U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria would be processed for separation by their respective military branches, according to a memo.
Hegseth spoke about the issue at Special Operations Forces Week on Tuesday.
“Everything starts and ends with warriors, from training to the battlefield,” Hegseth said. “We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses, we’re done with that [expletive].”
