A new Air Force memo says that transgender airmen who are being kicked out thanks to a Trump administration directive will not have the opportunity to argue their case before a board of their peers for the right to continue their military service.
New Air Force Policy Denies Transgender Troops Hearings Before They’re Discharged www.military.com/daily-news/2…
— Military.com (@militarydotcom.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 6:38 AM
From AP News:
The memo dated Tuesday says military separation boards cannot independently decide whether to keep or discharge transgender airmen and instead “must recommend separation of the member” if the airman has a diagnosis of gender dysphoria — when a person’s biological sex does not match up with their gender identity.
Military legal experts who have been advising transgender troops told The Associated Press that the new policy is unlawful.
The boards traditionally offer a quasi-legal hearing to determine if a service member set to depart is still of value to the military and should stay on. Fellow service members hear evidence of whatever wrongdoing occurred and about the person’s character, fitness and performance.
Prior to this, the Pentagon’s standing policy has been that separating service members are entitled to “fair and impartial” hearings that should be “a forum for the officer concerned to present reasons the contemplated action should not be taken.”
Cathy Marcello, interim director for Modern Military Association of America, which advocates for LGBTQ+ service members, told AP News this new policy is “a signal that identity, not ability or achievement, determines who stays in uniform and who gets a fair shot.”
Put another way.
New Air Force policy denies transgender troops “due process” before they’re discharged.
PS…I keep seeing Air Force, but this “must” be applied to all branches of the military. It should say New DoD policy.
— EthanObama (@ethanobama.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 7:39 AM
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