US Army bans transgender recruits ‘effective immediately’—all you need to know

The US Army on Friday announced that it will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military. It will also stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members. The announce comes only a few days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning “transgender ideology” and “invented pronouns” in the troops.

The Army stated that while individuals with gender dysphoria would be treated with dignity and respect for their service, gender-affirming care would be paused indefinitely.

US Army said in a X post, “Effective immediately, 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.”

“Individuals with gender dysphoria have volunteered to serve our country and will be treated with dignity and respect,” another post said.

What did the Trump's order say?

In an executive order dated January 27, President Trump said identifying with a sex different from the one assigned at birth "conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honourable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”

He added that revised policy to deal with transgender people in the military was required, claiming that their presence was harmful to military readiness.

Following this, the Department of Defense (DOD) sent an order forbiding transgender people from joining the military and gender transition processes in the service.

In this regard, DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth had noted those who are already in the military and suffer from gender dysphoria will be “treated with dignity and respect.”

The move is likely to affect around 11,500 transgender service members, which is less than 1% of the military's entire force, DOD figures showed.

Donald Trump had previously vowed to bring back a ban on transgender troops, after it was lifted in 2016 under the Barack Obama administration.