Pentagon to ban transgender people from joining military

WASHINGTON: The US military will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth filed in court on Monday.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way -- at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”

“Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused,” Hegseth said in a memo dated Feb 7 and filed on Monday with the US District Court in Washington, DC.

“All unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused,” he said. Hegseth said individuals with gender dysphoria already in the military would be “treated with dignity and respect,” and the under secretary of defence for personnel and readiness would provide additional details on what this would mean. The military has about 1.3 million active-duty personnel, according to Department of Defence data.