Defense Department adds gender dysphoria screening to annual physical

The Pentagon on Thursday announced it would add gender dysphoria screening to its mandatory physical as the Defense Department cracks down on transgender troops in the military. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January stating that "expressing a false 'gender identity' divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service." The ban was upheld by the Supreme Court last week.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth moved forward with the ban after the ruling, setting a deadline for active-duty transgender troops to self-identify for voluntary separation from the military to June 6, and a deadline for reservists for a month later.

The latest memo was signed by Jules Hurst, the Pentagon’s acting head of personnel and readiness, and directs senior officials to “immediately commence the identification of affected Service members” through the Defense Department’s Periodic Health Assessment. 

“Commanders who are aware of service members in their units with gender dysphoria, a history of gender dysphoria or symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria will direct individualized medical record reviews of such service members to confirm compliance with medical standards,” the memo reads.

The Pentagon previously said that approximately 1,000 service members in the military already identify as having gender dysphoria, and are expected to voluntarily leave military service.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.