Transgender troops say Pentagon is causing chaos with sudden policy reversal
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/transgender-troops-say-pentagon-is-causing-chaos-with-sudden-policy-reversal/ar-AA1AavhC?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=95e7166817c742c1ad5c9cf576f67124&ei=74
Story by Nicholas Slayton (3 March 2025)
For thousands of transgender troops in the United States military, the first two months of 2025 were nerve-wracking as they waited to find out whether or not their careers were over.
Air Force Master Sgt. Alexandria Holder has served as an Arabic cryptologic language analyst — one of the hardest-to-fill and in-demand positions in the military — for over 20 years and is now a flight chief for the Air Force's 3rd Intelligence Squadron at Fort Eisenhower, Georgia.
But now she says it feels as if her country no longer wants her doing any of that.
According to a Feb. 26 policy update from the Pentagon, transgender troops will be separated from the military, and transgender Americans looking to enlist will not be allowed to. The memo that outlines the policy was filed by Pentagon lawyers in response to an ongoing lawsuit. It directs the secretaries of all military branches to identify service members with "a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with" gender dysphoria and remove them from the armed forces.
The new Defense Department policy extends to potential recruits as well. The policy bars people who have or have had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from serving. Those already enrolled in military academies or Senior Reserve Officer Training Programs will be separated.
The military's medical services are also not allowed to provide gender-affirming surgeries under law in place prior to the new administration.