Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
Trans troops facing removal reflect on military service
Posted
May 12, 2025
Views
8,629
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374
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May 12, 2025
8,629
374
4.33%
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4:03Now PlayingFor the transgender troops facing removal from the military by the Trump administration, the end of their service means losing careers, livelihoods and benefits they and their family rely on.
“It would be absolutely devastating,” said U.S. Army Maj. Erica Vandal, who’s been serving for 13 years. “Just beyond the material effects that I am the sole breadwinner in my family. … It would be forcibly removing me from this lifestyle, this passion of mine, this career that’s really all I’ve ever known.”
The Pentagon announced Thursday it will immediately begin moving some 1,000 service members who self-identified as trans out of the military. Under new guidelines, active duty troops have until June 6 to voluntarily identify themselves for removal, while those in the National Guard and Reserve have until July 7 to do so.
After those periods, the Department of Defense will then involuntarily separate troops who have a history, diagnosis or symptoms of gender dysphoria.
PBS News spoke with three trans service members, some involved with the legal challenges against the ban, on what serving in the military has meant to them and what’s at stake if they’re ultimately removed from the armed forces. They shared their views in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the Defense Department.
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