In the weeks surrounding President Trump’s inauguration, America’s propaganda press relentlessly cited leftist claims that 15,000 trans-identifying individuals would be booted from the military under the new commander-in-chief. The insinuation, of course, was that such a move would harm “military readiness” and the country’s national security.
But as it turns out, there is still no evidence the 15,000 figure parroted by so-called “journalists” is even remotely viable.
Following a victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pentagon announced last week that it has resumed the process of removing individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria from the service. The agency disclosed in a press release that approximately 1,000 service members “who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary separation process.”
This revelation prompted The Federalist to probe the Defense Department and branches of the armed services to determine how many trans-identifying troops are currently serving in the military and how many have begun the voluntary separation process in accordance with Pentagon guidelines.
In a statement to The Federalist, a Defense Department official said that, as of February, there are “approximately 4,200 Active-duty, Guard and Reserve service members currently serving diagnosed with gender dysphoria” throughout the armed forces. The total is roughly the same that was announced by the agency in February.
When pressed by The Federalist, an Air Force representative did not disclose the number of airmen who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria or have begun the process of voluntary separation but said that the branch “updated guidance on Implementing Policy on Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness on May 9.” The official also disclosed that there “were no Air Force or Space Force waivers requested” from service members self-identifying as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria during the time between a lower court judge’s March injunction blocking the administration’s policy and the Supreme Court staying the injunction last week.
A Marine Corps spokesman told The Federalist that the branch “does not track the number of individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria.” When pressed on how many gender dysphoric Marines have begun the process of voluntary separation, the official said, “We are awaiting further guidance from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy regarding the implementation of this process. More to follow as details are clarified.”
The Army acknowledged The Federalist’s inquiry but declined to comment. The Navy did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
While reporting from real journalists like The Daily Wire’s Mary Margaret Olohan cast doubt about the validity of the claim that there are 15,000 trans-identifying troops in the military, legacy media leftists seemingly had no problem regurgitating the debunked figure.
Several weeks after Trump’s November victory, the U.K.-based Independent asserted without evidence, “There are roughly 15,000 trans people serving in the nation’s armed forces at a time when branches are suffering from recruitment shortfalls.” The outlet’s so-called “reporting” was cited by the left-wing Miltary.com in an article it published the same day.
The New York Times and Washington Post are also among those to republish the 15,000 “trans” troops number.
In January, the former referenced figures from the “transgender service member advocacy group” known as SPARTA Pride, which estimated there are “15,000 to 25,000 transgender troops serving.” The latter cited claims from so-called “[a]dvocates for transgender people” when noting the 15,000 number in an article published that same month.
NBC News, CBS News, and NPR have also pushed the debunked 15,000 figure in recent years and weeks.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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