STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The Department of Defense has resumed its removal of transgender troops from the military after an interim Supreme Court ruling. One pilot from the Virginia National Guard is vowing to stay as long as she can. Steve Walsh with WHRO has the story.
STEVE WALSH, BYLINE: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has dialed up his rhetoric as the deadline approaches for transgender troops to be dismissed from the military.
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PETE HEGSETH: We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind. No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses. We're done with that [expletive].
JO ELLIS: Well, I disagree with that characterization of me as a soldier.
WALSH: Chief Warrant Officer Jo Ellis is a Black Hawk pilot with the Virginia National Guard who transitioned in 2023, after 15 years in the Guard.
ELLIS: I would say, come on. Let's work out together. Let's do a fitness test. Let's spend some time together. And there's thousands of us serving currently. Has he ever worked out or spent time with a trans soldier? I would just encourage him to do that.
WALSH: The Department of Defense set a June 6 deadline for troops to leave voluntarily. Guard and Reserves have until July 7. Roughly a thousand troops have chosen to leave. After the deadline passes, the military is set to begin the process of forcing people out within 30 days. The order amounts to a total ban, says Jennifer Levi, attorney with GLAD, which brought one of the lawsuits against the ban.
JENNIFER LEVI: The executive order that is at the heart of the military ban has been completely transparent that the motivation is a desire to harm transgender people and a character attack on transgender people.
WALSH: Without a definitive win, probably before the U.S. Supreme Court, Levi believes all openly transgender troops are likely to be discharged within months. The Department of Defense estimates that there are more than 4,000 transgender troops currently serving. A defense official told NPR that a question is being added to the annual physical, asking whether someone has exhibited gender dysphoria. That's the diagnosis the Pentagon uses to determine whether someone is considered transgender. Commanders can also refer someone for a medical evaluation. After that, they will go through the administrative separation process. The Pentagon is also ordering that personnel records be changed to reflect a person's birth sex. Ellis says she will stay in the Virginia National Guard through the involuntary separation process.
ELLIS: I want them to put it in writing and tell me why I'm no longer qualified, right next to all of my qualifications. Right? Like, that's my piece to all of this, is that I'm going to go out on my feet and stay until the very end.
WALSH: When the services add up the true cost of removing experienced personnel, Ellis says if the ban does happen, she thinks eventually they'll be asked to come back.
ELLIS: I'd be up for it because I know it's not the Virginia National Guard doing this to me. This is coming from a very politicized process. There's still a majority of people that think we should be able to serve in the country. There's some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.
WALSH: At least two lawsuits challenging the Pentagon policy are making their way through the courts. In the meantime, one Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make it illegal for transgender troops to serve. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh.
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