Promoted one day and not ‘fit for duty’ the next: Transgender military personnel grapple with dismissals as forced separations are set to begin

Sailor Benjamin Kibler was overcome with pride when he was selected for the competitive position of Limited Duty Officer, a class of personnel the US Navy describes as “valuable individuals” who are among the “most fully qualified” talent the branch has to offer. Kibler and his wife celebrated the February 24 announcement as an exciting turning point in his career. As they prepared to relocate to Japan as part of his ship’s new deployment, his wife quit her job and the couple sold their truck, downsized their apartment and got rid of many of their belongings. Within two days it had all fallen apart. Kibler is among thousands of transgender and nonbinary service members affected by a February 26 memo from the Defense Department that announced military personnel with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria would be discharged from service. The Trump administration has argued that trans service members’ “false ‘gender identity’” conflicts with the armed forces’ standards of integrity and their service negatively impacts the military’s lethality, readiness and cohesion. But trans service members have been baffled by the characterization and say it does not reflect their years of service and deployments across the globe. “I don’t know how you like me for a commission on Monday and then say that I’m unfit for service on Wednesday of the same week,” Kibler said. He added, “It has nothing to do with my performance or anything like that. I think that’s kind of the bigger pill to swallow.” Though the policy is being challenged in court, the Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to begin enforcing the ban as legal appeals play out. Friday marks the last day that active-duty transgender service members can volunteer to separate from service under the Pentagon’s policy. Once the June 6 deadline has passed, the Defense Department said it will begin forcing out, or “involuntarily separating,” any remaining people with gender dysphoria, defined as the psychological distress an individual feels when their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. Reserve members have until July 7 to volunteer to separate. Though it is unclear how many will be dismissed under the policy, about 1,000 people had come forward to voluntarily separate by early May, about a quarter of the approximately 4,240 personnel identified as having gender dysphoria as of December 2024, a senior defense official has said. Earlier this week, the Army alone had recorded about 700 requests for voluntary separation, a Pentagon official told CNN. Details on the number of volunteers across other branches have not been released. The Defense Department has incentivized volunteers with promises of larger separation payouts. It has said those who are dismissed involuntarily will receive far lower payouts and may have to return bonuses. The branches have already begun compiling lists of those with gender dysphoria diagnoses, but an Army memo obtained by CNN and first reported by CBS details other criteria that will be used to identify soldiers for potential dismissal, including prior requests for grooming standard exemptions and “open or overt conduct” within the unit or on social media. A soldier’s “private conversation” with a commander could also trigger a medical review if the soldier discloses that they experience gender dysphoria, the Army memo says. The Pentagon official confirmed the Army memo is consistent with the Pentagon’s guidance for all branches. Several trans military members told CNN they feel the policy has left them with no choice but to leave and has thrown their families into limbo. The separation process could take months and some say they are struggling to apply for jobs as they mourn years of service and reimagine lives that have been built around the military. Kibler decided to voluntarily separate, but says he felt backed into a corner. After 13 years of service, he is not yet eligible for retirement and he fears the Navy would try to recoup over $24,000 in bonuses he has received. His wife, now unemployed, has been an “absolute wreck.” “None of this is voluntary. … You’re given two options, and you’re trying to make the best decision for your family,” said Kibler, who emphasized that his opinions do not reflect the views of the Navy or Defense Department. Legal battle still playing out The ban on transgender service members is going into effect even as the federal government battles multiple legal challenges in federal courts. Federal judges have so far ruled that the policy violates the constitutional rights of transgender Americans, and two judges have issued nationwide injunctions blocking the government from enforcing the ban. But after a judge in Washington state halted enforcement of the ban on March 27, the Justice Department quickly appealed the order up to the Supreme Court. In a divided ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the ban to be enforced while lower courts review its legality. In his decision halting the ban’s enforcement, US District Judge Benjamin Settle said the administration “fails to contend with the reality that transgender service members have served openly for at least four years under (policies from previous administrations) without any discernable harm to military readiness, cohesion, order, or discipline.” “It provides no evidence to counter plaintiffs’ showing that open transgender service has in fact enhanced each of these interests,” the judge wrote. But Solicitor General John Sauer argued to the Supreme Court justices that Settle had overstepped and encroached on military policy. Without Supreme Court action, he added, the military will “be forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to military readiness and the Nation’s interests.” ‘A personal attack on our dignity’ As trans service members begin to be dismissed, they are able to lean on military support resources, including programs designed to help personnel transition to civilian life and apply for jobs. But several told CNN their forced exit and the government’s rhetoric surrounding the policy has felt like a bitter betrayal after they have uprooted their lives to serve. “For those of us who’ve stood on the front lines, the idea that our identity could render us unfit to serve is not only disheartening — it’s a personal attack on our dignity,” said Alex Colyer, an infantry sergeant in New York. Colyer has applied to see if he may be eligible for medical discharge instead of voluntary separation, as he says he sustained injuries during deployment. Alyxandra Demetrides, a Blackhawk pilot and aviation safety officer in Washington state, said the ban has also disheartened her wife and two children, who consider themselves a “proud military family.” “It’s been extremely difficult. I mean, we’re resilient. The military has taught me to be resilient in the face of adversity, and part of that is instilling that in my family too,” Demetrides said. “They deal with deployments in their own way.” Their nine-year-old daughter is proud to be a military child and loves to attend military air shows and talk about the family’s deployment to Korea. She has been struggling to adjust to their new reality. “I try to remind her this is part of her life, and even if we can’t do it anymore, they can never take that away from us, because we all contributed to that mission as a family, and that will always be part of our life,” Demetrides said.