Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo on Monday blocking people with gender dysphoria from joining the military and ending gender transition surgery for service members.
Hegseth said, effective immediately, all new accessions for people with a history of gender dysphoria are paused, and all unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for service members are paused.
"The lethality, readiness, and warfighting capability of our Force depends on Service members meeting those standard," Hegseth wrote. "The department must ensure it is building 'One Force' without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence. Efforts to split our troops along lines of identity weaken our Force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated."
President Donald Trump had previously signed an executive order, stating "expressing a false ‘gender identity' divergent from an individual's sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for Military Service."
Hegseth said service members with gender dysphoria will still be treated with dignity and respect.
"The Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness is authorized and delegated the authority to provide additional policy and implementation guidance outside of the normal DoD issuance process, including guidance regarding service by Service members with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria, to implement this direction," Hegseth wrote.
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