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Transgender people officially banned from joining US Army
The United States Army officially announced that it will no longer allow transgender individuals to enlist in the military and cease providing gender transition procedures, after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning “transgender ideology” in the army.
In a post on X, the US Army added that people with “gender dysphoria would be treated with dignity and respect for volunteering to serve America”. Gender dysphoria is a feeling of distress that results from a mismatch between a person’s biological sex and their gender identity.
President Trump had signed an executive order on January 27, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” according to which “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle”. The order directed the Pentagon to determine a policy for transgender service members within 30 days. The announcement was part of Trump administration’s crackdown on the “woke culture”, which he had promised in his re-election campaign.
According to CBS News, as per a February 7 memo, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had temporarily “put a hold on recruits who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and paused all gender-affirming care”.
Though Trump vowed to ban transgender troops during his first stint as US president from 2017 to 2021, his administration only froze their recruitment while allowing serving personnel to continue. Former president Joe Biden repealed it in 2021.
There are about 1.3 million active-duty personnel in the US Army, with transgender service members forming only a small fraction of it.
THE WEEK