Transgender personnel in the United States military

In the early 1960s, Department of Defense regulations banned openly transgender people from military service. Transgender service members were classified as being mentally ill and unfit to serve. Transgender veterans have formed organizations such as the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA), which advocates for transgender individuals to be allowed to serve in the military, The end of the Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) policy did not change matters for transgender individuals, though transgender activists like Navy veteran Autumn Sandeen played significant roles in protesting DADT. Even if discharged under mental health regulations, transgender veterans can receive medical benefits at Veterans Administration hospitals, though VA hospitals cannot perform sex-reassignment surgeries. Some have returned to active service after transitioning.

On June 30, 2016, United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced that the ban on transgender people from openly serving in the US military had been lifted and that the United States Department of Defense was undergoing a twelve-month transition period to satisfy the needs of transgender soldiers. On July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of the ban on service by transgender individuals through a series of posts on his Twitter page, though he did not announce how it would be implemented or what would happen to openly transgender personnel. The ban has yet to be officially reinstated, though President Trump has directed that an implementation policy shall be submitted to him by February 2018.

Albert Cashier, born Jennie Irene Hodgers, enlisted and served in the Union Army as a man during the American Civil War and maintained his male identity for the remainder of his life. Although there had been numerous instances of strategic disguise during the Civil War and earlier, Cashier was unique in maintaining his identity after the war. The first transgender American woman to undergo gender confirmation surgery (in 1952) was Christine Jorgensen, who had previously been drafted into the United States Army to serve during World War II. The surgery made front-page news with headlines such as "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty" (from the New York Daily News focusing on her prior military service.

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