The United States Department of Defense (DOD) will no longer allow those who identify as a transgender or fight with gender dysphoria to enter the United States Army and stop all insurance coverage for transgender medical procedures for members of service, such as surgeries and hormones.
The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, He issued a memorandum which describes the new policy on Friday, February 7, which was made public on Monday, February 10. The memorando arrives less than two weeks after President Donald Trump
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“With immediate validity, all the new additions of people with a history of gender dysphoria are suspended, and all the non -programmed, scheduled or planned medical procedures associated with the affirmation or facilitation of a gender transition for members of the service are suspended,” It reads in the Hegseth memorandum.
The memorandum includes a footnote that defines medical procedures, which include genital surgeries and any other transgender surgery that aims to make someone look more similar to the opposite sex. It also expressly includes hormonal therapies, which administer estrogen to men to feminize them and testosterone to women to masculinize them and facilitate a gender transition.
According to A Congress Research Service Report Updated on January 10, the Department of Defense spent about 15 million dollars on gender transition services for active duty military from January 1, 2016 until May 14, 2021. Former President Joe Biden established a policy To provide “medically necessary” coverage for gender transitions after taking office, but it is not clear how much money was spent on those services during the last four years.
Trump’s executive order indicates that DOD’s long data policy requires that members of the Armed Forces do not suffer from medical conditions that probably require excessive loss of service time. He also points out that the policies of the Department of Defense for a long time that certain mental health conditions are incompatible with active service.
Although the new DOD policy does not allow anyone with a history of gender dysphoria to join the army, it does not clearly establish what the impact will be in people who are already members of the army and fight with gender dysphoria or identify themselves as transgender.
The memorandum establishes that “people with gender dysphoria have voluntarily offered to serve our country and will be treated with dignity and respect.”
It also authorizes the Deputy Secretary of Defense of the Department for Personnel and Preparation to “provide additional guidance on policies and implementation outside the Normal DOD issuance process, including guidance on service for service members with a current diagnosis or a history of gender dysphoria, gender dysphoria, para implementar esta directiva”.
According to the memorandum, the Mission of the Department of Defense requires that the Army members “comply with strict mental and physical standards”, emphasizing that “the lethality, preparation and combat capacity of our strength depend on the members of the service complying with these standards ”.
“The department must ensure that it is building a ‘unique force’ without subgroups defined by nothing more than the capacity or accession to the mission,” continues the memorandum. “The efforts to divide our troops into identity lines weaken our strength and make us vulnerable. Such efforts should not be tolerated or accepted. ”
In your memorandum, Hegseth also quotes The Trump Executive Order of January 27which states that “expressing a” false and divergent gender identity of the sex of an individual cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service. “
Trump’s executive order also establishes that “the adoption of a gender identity incompatible with the sex of an individual conflicts with the commitment of a soldier with an honorable, truthful and disciplined lifestyle, even in his personal life.”
“The affirmation of a man of which he is a woman and his requirement that others respect this falsehood is not consistent with the humility and altruism that are required to a member of the military service,” reads the order of Trump.
Since he assumed the position on January 20, Trump has taken several measures to reverse the adoption of gender ideology by the previous administration through federal regulations. This includes an executive order to restore the “biological truth in the federal government”, which establishes that there are only two genres, male and female, and that are known at the time of birth depending on the biological characteristics.
Trump also issued executive orders to prohibit medications and transgender surgeries for children and to prohibit biological men in female sports in primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Tyler Arnold
Tyler Arnold es reportero del National Catholic Register. He previously worked at The Center Square and has published in various media, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative and The Federalist.