Friday marked a grim milestone for transgender service members across the armed forces: the deadline set by the Pentagon to either resign or face involuntary separation under a Trump administration policy that legal advocates say is discriminatory, unjustified, and a profound betrayal of those who serve.
Under a May 15 directive, military commanders were ordered to review medical records for any diagnosis, history, or symptoms “consistent with gender dysphoria.” Those identified and not granted a rare, nearly unobtainable high-level waiver, which requires the denial of one’s identity, are being kicked out from service. The result: a systemwide purge that LGBTQ+ advocates call discriminatory, degrading, and dangerous to military readiness.
“There’s nothing voluntary about forced separation,” said Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD Law, which represents transgender plaintiffs suing the administration over the ban in Talbott v. United States. “Honorable and committed transgender servicemembers are being coerced into choreographing their own dismissal under a presidential edict that maligns their character with falsehoods — characterizations the government itself admitted in court are untrue. These are decorated veterans who served for decades, and forcing them out simply for being transgender is a shameful betrayal of American values.”
The policy took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an injunction in a separate case, Shilling v. United States, the lead lawsuit challenging the ban. Commander Emily Shilling, a Navy pilot, aerospace engineer, and the first out transgender aviator cleared for tactical jet operations, is the lead plaintiff in that case out of Washington state.
Speaking at the Equality PAC Pride Gala just days before the implementation of forced separation, Shilling made her position clear.
“The case was originally Shilling v. Trump, and now it’s Shilling v. United States. I want to make it very clear: I am not against the United States. I serve because I love this country — even when the courts get it wrong,” she said.
“This ban does not make us stronger,” Shilling continued. “It tells service members that their identity matters more than their performance, their sacrifice, or even their oath.”
The Pentagon’s order has triggered a wave of quiet exits — and agonizing decisions. Some troops are retiring early to preserve benefits. Others are being separated involuntarily under codes usually reserved for misconduct.
Major Erica Vandal, a plaintiff in Talbott v. United States, is among those now being forced out. She is a West Point graduate, a Bronze Star recipient, and a veteran of Afghanistan who served with distinction for 14 years.
“The military has invested millions of dollars in training thousands of transgender servicemembers,” said Shannon Minter, legal director at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, which also represents Talbott plaintiffs. “Major Vandal and others are now being forced out through a humiliating process typically reserved for misconduct that will leave a stain on their records. This mistreatment… is needlessly cruel and a shocking betrayal of our commitment to all those who serve.”
Second Lieutenant Nicolas Talbott, the lead plaintiff, has told The Advocate that he had no intention of resigning.
“I do not have any plans to pursue voluntary separation,” he said in May.
Navy Commander Blake Dremann, a submarine logistics officer and one of the first out transgender service members, marked the day with a somber reflection online.
“Today will be a lesser-known D-Day for many transgender service members,” he wrote in a lengthy post on the social media platform Threads. “They must ‘choose’ to leave voluntarily or ride out involuntary separation. I have requested my regular retirement… It feels like giving up. It feels like I will be judged for it.”
Dremann, who was set to deploy for the 12th time, called the ban’s deployability rationale “made up” and listed what he called the “7 Truths” of transgender service: they are in every branch and specialty; they lead, deploy, and train others; they are welcomed and trusted by their units; and they have families and communities who support them.
“We LOVE what we do AND we are damn good at it,” he wrote. “If merit is what matters, my gender shouldn’t.”
Waivers under the policy must be approved by a Senate-confirmed official—a process that many legal advocates describe as opaque and functionally unattainable since it requires the military member not to express their gender identity. The Pentagon has cut transgender troops off from SkillBridge, a civilian career prep program, and reinstated its ban on gender-affirming care.
While legal challenges persist, lawmakers are highlighting the policy’s immediate harm. On Thursday, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois — a decorated Iraq War veteran and double amputee — led 22 Senate Democrats in a last-minute plea to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, urging him not to carry out what they called a “foolhardy,” “cruel,” and “politically motivated” expulsion.
In a scathing letter obtained by The Advocate, Duckworth wrote that the policy “punishes those who have volunteered to serve” and warned that it would “harm our armed services’ operational readiness and lethality.” The letter condemned the Pentagon’s order to assign separation codes to transgender troops that suggest they pose a threat to national security. “Using this discharge code is not only cruel,” it read. “It’s stupid.”
For Dremann, who says he would continue serving if allowed, the impact is personal, but the fight is larger than one career.
“Our lives as service members are an example to many that need to see it to believe they can be us,” he wrote.
Talbott, a reservist, said he has until July 7 to decide whether to fight separation or accept what the government calls “voluntary” exit.
“I’m definitely feeling the weight of what this means for my thousands of fellow trans service members who are active duty and had to make their impossible decision by today,” Talbott told The Advocate on Friday. “We are all burdened with the uncertainty of what’s to come and major concerns about the widespread ramifications of the sudden dismissal of thousands of troops. I continue to find strength in the knowledge that this fight is not over, and I am confident that we will prevail in the end.”
Another plaintiff, 24-year-old Air Force recruit Clayton McCallister, graduated from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas on Thursday after 7.5 weeks of grueling instruction. Despite graduating with the highest physical training scores in his dorm and receiving praise from superiors and peers alike, McCallister was told he would not be allowed to continue to technical school.
“Everybody that I worked with and worked for wants me to be in the Air Force—point blank,” McCallister said in a phone interview Friday. “They said I was one of the best trainees they’ve had come through there. As far as my wingmen, they’re mad about it just as much as I am.”
Although McCallister technically remains on active duty, he has begun the process of separation, doing so under protest.
“It’s not what I want,” he said. “But with the uncertainty of the involuntary separation process, especially in a training environment, my wife and I just want some stability in this. With the end result likely being the same, I told them I want whatever is fastest to get the whole process over with.”
McCallister, who trained for a career in special warfare and was preparing to enter pararescue—a highly selective field involving combat and medical rescue, said the decision to force out trans troops despite their qualifications sends a dangerous and demoralizing message.
“When I first came to training, I thought I had to prove that trans people could serve,” he said. “But as I got deeper into it, I realized: we’ve already proven that, over and over. Thousands of trans service members have already done that.”
McCallister said fellow trainees told him he had changed their minds about the ban. One airman who initially supported it told McCallister he now stands firmly against it after serving beside him.
“I may not have won the war,” McCallister said. “But I won some battles here at BMT. I changed some opinions.”
Now in legal limbo, McCallister is awaiting paperwork, medical evaluations, and the official processing of his discharge. He said the timeline is unclear, and his family remains in flux.
“We’re just trying to find some stability again,” he said. “It’s stressful. But people here saw me for who I am. That means something.”