The new Pentagon policy, which emphasizes a return to "tradition" and a focus on "lethality," has put thousands of transgender individuals in "survival mode".
Pentagon figures released in early 2025 showed that gender-affirming care has cost approximately million since 2015, a small fraction of the billion annual defense health budget.
The Pentagon memo established a departure deadline of June 6, 2025, for active component service members to voluntarily leave, with reserve components set for July 7, 2025.
Transgender service members and human rights groups have filed lawsuits, challenging the ban and arguing that forcing them to serve under their sex assigned at birth is discriminatory.