Presidential DocumentExecutive Order 140042021-02034
Enabling All Qualified Americans To Serve Their Country in Uniform
Primary source
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Published
January 28, 2021
Signed
January 25, 2021
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 17 (Thursday, January 28, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 17 (Thursday, January 28, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 7471-7473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02034]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 17 / Thursday, January 28, 2021 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 7471]]
Executive Order 14004 of January 25, 2021
Enabling All Qualified Americans To Serve Their
Country in Uniform
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. All Americans who are qualified to
serve in the Armed Forces of the United States (``Armed
Forces'') should be able to serve. The All-Volunteer
Force thrives when it is composed of diverse Americans
who can meet the rigorous standards for military
service, and an inclusive military strengthens our
national security.
It is my conviction as Commander in Chief of the Armed
Forces that gender identity should not be a bar to
military service. Moreover, there is substantial
evidence that allowing transgender individuals to serve
in the military does not have any meaningful negative
impact on the Armed Forces. To that end, in 2016, a
meticulous, comprehensive study requested by the
Department of Defense found that enabling transgender
individuals to serve openly in the United States
military would have only a minimal impact on military
readiness and healthcare costs. The study also
concluded that open transgender service has had no
significant impact on operational effectiveness or unit
cohesion in foreign militaries.
On the basis of this information, the Secretary of
Defense concluded in 2016 that permitting transgender
individuals to serve openly in the military was
consistent with military readiness and with strength
through diversity, such that transgender service
members who could meet the required standards and
procedures should be permitted to serve openly. The
Secretary of Defense also concluded that it was
appropriate to create a process that would enable
service members to take steps to transition gender
while serving.
The previous administration chose to alter that policy
to bar transgender persons, in almost all
circumstances, from joining the Armed Forces and from
being able to take steps to transition gender while
serving. Rather than relying on the comprehensive study
by a nonpartisan federally funded research center, the
previous administration relied on a review that
resulted in a policy that set unnecessary barriers to
military service. It is my judgment that the Secretary
of Defense's 2016 conclusions remain valid, as further
demonstrated by the fact that, in 2018, the then-
serving Chief of Staff of the Army, Chief of Naval
Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Chief
of Staff of the Air Force all testified publicly to the
Congress that they were not aware of any issues of unit
cohesion, disciplinary problems, or issues of morale
resulting from open transgender service. A group of
former United States Surgeons General, who collectively
served under Democratic and Republican Presidents,
echoed this point, stating in 2018 that ``transgender
troops are as medically fit as their non-transgender
peers and that there is no medically valid reason--
including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria--to exclude
them from military service or to limit their access to
medically necessary care.''
Therefore, it shall be the policy of the United States
to ensure that all transgender individuals who wish to
serve in the United States military and can meet the
appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and
free from discrimination.
[[Page 7472]]
Sec. 2. Revocation. The Presidential Memorandum of
March 23, 2018 (Military Service by Transgender
Individuals), is hereby revoked, and the Presidential
Memorandum of August 25, 2017 (Military Service by
Transgender Individuals), remains revoked.
Sec. 3. Agency Roles and Responsibilities. In
furtherance of the policy described in section 1 of
this order, I hereby direct the following:
(a) The Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of
Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard,
shall, after consultation with the Joint Chiefs of
Staff about how best to implement this policy and
consistent with applicable law, take all necessary
steps to ensure that all directives, orders,
regulations, and policies of their respective
departments are consistent with this order. These steps
shall include establishing a process by which
transgender service members may transition gender while
serving, along with any further steps that the
Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Homeland Security
deem appropriate to advance the policy described in
section 1 of this order.
(b) The Secretary of Defense shall:
(i) immediately prohibit involuntary separations, discharges, and denials
of reenlistment or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity
or under circumstances relating to their gender identity;
(ii) identify and examine the records of service members who have been
involuntarily separated, discharged, or denied reenlistment or continuation
of service on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating
to their gender identity;
(iii) issue guidance to the Secretaries of each military department
regarding the correction of the military records of individuals described
in subsection (b)(ii) of this section as necessary to remove an injustice,
pursuant to section 1552(a) of title 10, United States Code, to the extent
permitted by law; and
(iv) direct the Secretaries of each military department to provide
supplemental guidance, subject to the approval of the Secretary, to the
boards for the correction of military records, instructing such boards on
how to review applications for the correction of records of individuals
described in subsection (b)(ii) of this section. Where appropriate, the
department concerned shall offer such individuals an opportunity to rejoin
the military should they wish to do so and meet the current entry
standards.
(c) The Secretary of Homeland Security with respect
to the Coast Guard shall:
(i) immediately prohibit involuntary separations, discharges, and denials
of reenlistment or continuation of service, on the basis of gender identity
or under circumstances relating to their gender identity;
(ii) identify and examine the records of service members who have been
involuntarily separated, discharged, or denied reenlistment or continuation
of service, on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating
to their gender identity;
(iii) issue guidance regarding the correction of the military records of
individuals described in subsection (c)(ii) of this section as necessary to
remove an injustice, pursuant to section 1552(a) of title 10, United States
Code, to the extent permitted by law; and
(iv) provide supplemental guidance to the Board for Correction of Military
Records of the Coast Guard, instructing the Board on how to review
applications for the correction of records of individuals described in
subsection (c)(ii) of this section. Where appropriate, the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall offer such individuals an opportunity to rejoin the
Coast Guard should they wish to do so and meet the current entry standards.
(d) The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Homeland Security shall report to me within 60 days of
the date of this order on their progress in
implementing the directives in this order and the
policy described in section 1 of this order.
[[Page 7473]]
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 25, 2021.
[FR Doc. 2021-02034
Filed 1-27-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 28, 2021.
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