Of course, the Secretary of Defense assigned a voluntary resignation cutoff date at the start of Pride month.
  • dandelion (she/her)@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    6·
    12 days ago

    “It was challenged in court, and, of course, we appealed. And two days ago at the Supreme Court, our policy was upheld,” Hegseth said. “And so we’re going to continue to advance that policy here at the Defense Department. So, in accordance with the policy now reinstated, service members who have a current diagnosis or history of or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily. There’s a timeline here, and eventually, involuntarily if necessary."

    The official directive provided more specificity.

    "The eligibility window to self-identify for voluntary separation is extended to June 6, 2025, for Active Component Service members and July 7, 2025, for Reserve Component Service members,” the directive states.

    Those service members who previously self-identified for voluntary separation will undergo immediate processing for their discharges.

    EDIT:

    Worth calling out, the Supreme Court decision was technically only a temporary decision to not suspend the trans military ban:

    https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/scotus-allows-military-ban-that-calls

    Though technically a temporary measure—the decision sends the case back to the Ninth Circuit for full review—the calling it temporary is a distinction without a difference. It grants the military immediate authority to discharge transgender service members, displacing them from their jobs, income, and housing. By the time the Ninth Circuit, and ultimately the Supreme Court, issues a final ruling, the damage will already have been done.

    EDIT2: and if you’re a moderate cis ally who doesn’t see why this is such a big deal:

    SPARTA, a leading transgender military advocacy organization, estimates that removing 15,000 transgender service members would result in the loss of an $18 billion capital investment, with the Palm Center projecting an additional $1 billion cost to recruit and train replacements. Notably, up to 73% of these service members are senior enlisted personnel with 12-21 years of experience—expertise that cannot be easily replaced by the U.S. government.