Inside the US trans military ban

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 June 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

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Summary

One of the first executive orders that President Donald Trump signed in his second term of office stated that being transgender is incompatible with the ‘rigorous standards necessary for military service’. It set the stage for a ban on trans people serving in the military, regardless of ability, rank or service history. Official figures say there are 4,240 transgender service members in the US armed forces, however research commissioned by the US Defense Department in 2016 estimated there could be up to around 10,000.

Over the past four months the BBC has been following the stories of two trans service people as the executive order took effect. Both have served 17 years in the military, and are now facing the threat of a dishonourable discharge.

Archive sources: NBC News, FOX News, CBS News, CNN, Chicks on the Right, Newsmax, 9 News, WKYC, ABC News, US Army's School of Advanced Military Studies

Transcript

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0:00.0	Breaking news out of Washington as well. President Trump is set to sign multiple new executive orders
0:08.4	today that could dramatically reshape the nation's military. We will get transgender ideology the hell
0:15.3	out of our military. It's going to be gone. One of the first executive orders that President Donald
0:20.5	Trump signed in his second term in office
0:22.9	said that transgender people are unfit for military service.
0:26.8	The order says in part, quote, the medical, surgical and mental health constraints on individuals
0:33.1	who have a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards
0:40.2	necessary for military service.
0:42.6	Soon after, the U.S. Defense Department moved to ban transgender people
0:47.1	from the armed forces, regardless of ability, rank, or service history.
0:52.4	I'm saying by definition, if you have transitioned into a different gender, you are not
0:56.1	meeting our medical standards.
0:58.5	Over the past four months, the BBC has been following the stories of two trans service
1:03.4	people as the executive order took effect.
1:08.0	Oh God, the DOD just dropped all the new policy.
1:14.1	I got to make this quick.
1:15.6	Right now, a lot of people who deal with supporting people are calling like trans hotline for suicide prevention and stuff like that.
1:23.5	What does the number say?
1:25.6	We have 30 days to voluntarily separate where we get benefits.
1:32.5	If you choose not to voluntarily separate in 30 days, then you will likely lose those benefits
1:40.9	and get something other than an honorable discharge.
1:45.3	Major Kara Cochran has served 17 years in the Army, including leading troops in Afghanistan.
	...

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