The Trump Pentagon, led by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, is pausing all accessions for transgender recruits and also pausing medical procedures that affirm or facilitate a gender transition, according to a memo.
The memo, dated February 7, 2025, addressed to senior Pentagon leadership and others, states that the Department “must ensure it is building ‘One Force’ without subgroups defined by anything other than ability or mission adherence.”
“Efforts to split out troops along lines of identity weaken our force and make us vulnerable. Such efforts must not be tolerated or accommodated,” it continues before citing President Trump’s Executive Order 14183 on “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness.”
The order states in part [emphasis added]:
Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false “gender identity” divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life. A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.
As a result, the memo says that “all new accessions for individuals 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 memo also emphasizes that these individuals who have volunteered to serve the country will be “treated with dignity and respect.”
ON THE DOCKET: The Pentagon reveals a new memo from Secretary Hegseth pausing all accessions for transgender recruits and pausing all related medical procedures.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 10, 2025
Memo also says transgender people currently serving "will be treated with dignity and respect," delegates decisions… pic.twitter.com/jxhAgHAcHj
The action follows Trump’s January 27 memo, which emphasized that those serving in the U.S. military must be both “mentally and physically fit for duty.”
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“The Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards to ensure our military can deploy, fight, and win, including in austere conditions and without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions,” it states, emphasizing that such standards are inconsistent with what it describes as the “medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria.”
A Rasmussen Reports survey released last week found that most, 54 percent, approve of actions “to discharge military service members who identify as transgender or are receiving transgender treatments for failing to meet physical and mental fitness requirements.” Another 41 percent either strongly or somewhat disapprove.
