NewMexicoConservativeNews.com Special Report: Transgender Military Ban a Local Perspective

"The Air Force does not publicly report the number of transgender service members at individual bases, such information is considered sensitive and private, due to safety concerns," according to an Air Force statement released from the Pentagon when asked how many transgendered air personnel are located at Holloman, Ft. Bliss and White Sands Missle Range in New Mexico.

An LBGTQ Air Person who spoke on a condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal from the Pentagon spoke with AlamogordoTownNews.com and NewMexicoConservativeNews.com investigates in collaboration for a series of articles. The air person of rank, states that "there are 5 known and out transgender individuals at Holloman, estimates are of 8 at White Sands and up to 200 at Ft. Bliss." The air person states that the individuals in question,  "work in fear, daily fearing discharge since President Trump took on as an agenda item the removal of Transgendered troops."

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact number of transgender individuals serving in the New Mexico military. While the Williams Institute estimates that approximately 15,500 transgender individuals are serving in the U.S. military overall, including active duty. 

According to the HRC, Transgender troops have been serving openly and successfully since 2016, including hundreds who have deployed to combat zones. The Chiefs of Staff to each military branch have testified that there have been no negative impact on readiness. Additionally, data obtained by the Pentagon has shown that the cost of providing medical care to transgender troops has been miniscule. The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and American Psychiatric Association all oppose the ban, stating that there is no medical reason transgender troops should be barred from serving.

The Pentagon will immediately begin moving on as many as 1,000 openly identifying transgender service members out of the military and give others 30 days to self-identify, under a new directive issued by the Pentagon.

Buoyed by last weeks Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce a ban on transgender individuals in the military, the Defense Department will now begin going through medical records to identify others who haven’t come forward.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who issued the latest memo, made his views clear after the court’s decision.

“No More Trans @ DoD,” Hegseth wrote in a post on X. Earlier in the day, before the court acted, Hegseth was more blunt, telling a conference that his department is leaving wokeness and weakness behind. “No more pronouns,” he told a special operations forces conference in Tampa.

His new order gives active duty troops until June 6 to identify themselves as transgender and voluntarily begin to leave the service. National Guard and Reserve troops have until July 7.

NewMexicoConservativeNews.com investigates, spoke under condition of anonymity about her plight, "I've served multiple combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, I serve my nation proudly. I'm eligible for retirement within the year but now under this administration a witch hunt is on and they want to force us, with no retirement benefits for being a transgender service member. Unlike many I'm not "out" but most of my colleagues know I am transgendered thus at risk."

Pentagon leaders are rushing to put out new guidance to help commanders work through the process, including what to do in more complex situations, such as if any of the troops are deployed, at sea, or may require special orders or funding to meet the deadlines.

The Pentagon is reviewing medical records 
for those identified with gender dysphoria or who are taking hormones or had transitioned to another gender. Gender dysphoria occurs when a person’s biological sex does not match up with their gender identity.

Hegseth's latest memo sets up two distinct processes, but the details remain a bit unclear per military insiders.

Service members who voluntarily identify themselves to commanders would likely be able to receive some type of separation pay, which could include cashing out leave time that has not been used or bonuses that have not yet been paid. Retirement benefits are up in the air. 

After June 6, 2025 the department will target those identified via their medical records to find any other troops who have been diagnosed with or treated for gender dysphoria and force them to leave the service. Those troops may not qualify for  additional pay nor retirement benefits.

The Pentagon policy, as written earlier this year, would allow for limited exemptions.

That includes transgender personnel seeking to enlist who can prove on a case-by-case basis that they directly support warfighting activities, or if an existing service member diagnosed with gender dysphoria can prove they support a specific warfighting need, never transitioned to the gender they identify with and prove over 36 months that they are stable in their biological sex “without clinically significant distress.”

If a waiver is issued, the applicant would still face a situation where only their biological sex would be recognized for bathroom facilities, sleeping quarters and even in official recognition, such as being called “Sir” or “Ma’am.”

Recently, the U.S. military has faced challenges in recruiting new personnel. In FY2022, the Army missed its quota by over 25%. The service did not fare any better in FY2023.  Fy2024 the military fell short of its goal to add 65,500 new active-duty troops but the gap overall was closing. The 2025 numbers for the first quarter of 2025 were promising showing the Army exceeding recruiting quotas but under the uncertainty in Pentagon leadership the recruiting gap looks to grow larger. 

Part 2 of our series in collaboration with NewMexicoConservativeNews.com next week will include a detailed interview with a transgendered military member on life in Alamogordo, New Mexico as a transgendered military person.

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