Pentagon memo says trans service members can stay in the military – if they deny their identities

A new Pentagon memorandum has revealed waivers for trans military service men and women are conditional on them denying their identities.

The document, entitled Clarifying Guidance on Prioritising Military Excellence and Readiness: Retention and Accession Waivers, was submitted by the US government as part of the Talbott vs. Trump court case brought by GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights in response to the president’s executive order which aimed to prevent trans people serving in the armed forces.

Signed by the president at the end of January, the executive order declared the military has been “afflicted with radical gender ideology” and stated that “expressing a false gender identity divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service”.

The order made good on Trump’s campaign promise to restore his previous trans military ban, which took effect during his first term in office but was subsequently overturned by Joe Biden, and came alongside a crackdown on equality policies in the government and military.

The lawsuit argues that Trump’s first ban, in 2017, was found to be unconstitutional and the order “betrays fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit”.

The new memorandum states that the “the medical, surgical and mental-health constraints” that come with gender dysphoria and gender-affirming care, including “cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital construction, [are] incompatible with military service”.

It goes on to say that transgender members of the armed services could be eligible for retention or accession waivers but only if they have a specialised skill set or role which was vital to the country’s “war-fighting capabilities” and if they essentially renounce their trans identity and closet themselves.

In order to obtain a waiver, the personnel must have lived in their sex assigned at birth for at least 36 consecutive months, never tried to transition to any sex other than the one assigned at birth, and adhered to the standards associated with their sex assigned at birth.

Waivers will be considered on a “case-by-case basis”.

A previous memo filed in court detailed how the Pentagon would identify trans troops within 30 days, and within 30 days of that, start to “separate” them from the military.

Several trans members of the army, navy and air force have voiced their opposition to Trump’s proposals, emphasising that their gender and ability to serve are not mutually exclusive.

Speaking to Task & Purpose, a publication serving the military community, air force master sergeant Alexandria Holder, who has been an Arabic cryptologic language analyst for more than 20 years, said: “For somebody to turn around and say I’m not serving with integrity, and what I provide is not wanted or welcome in uniform, it hurts.”

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