Pentagon digs through troops’ confidential medical records to hunt for transgender service members

The Defense Department has accessed private medical records belonging to U.S. troops as it tries to drive closeted transgender service members out of the military.Multiple sources told the Federal News Network that the Pentagon is using medical and personnel data to identify transgender service members as the Trump administration forces them out of the military. According to SPARTA Pride and Priya Rashid, an attorney with the National Institute of Military Justice, that effort has outed several hundred active duty and reserve service members over the past two months.The administration has also adopted a criterion for deciding who will be forced out under its ban, declaring that any history of gender dysphoria is incompatible with “high standards for troop readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity and integrity.”Related: Decorated transgender troops endure closed-door hearings with foregone conclusions in Pentagon purgeTo identify troops with current or past gender dysphoria diagnoses, sources told Federal News Network that the Pentagon has begun what advocates describe as an unprecedented search of military health systems. That includes combing through protected medical records. The outlet spoke with at least two transgender service members facing separation after their commands were notified that gender dysphoria-related diagnoses had been flagged in their records.In some cases, the information appears to come directly from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office. One internal Air Force email reviewed by Federal News Network said the Office of the Secretary of Defense had identified specific troops “who may have a current diagnosis or history of or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria in their electronic healthcare record.”Related: Pentagon begins mass removal of transgender troopsThe sweep has reached service academy and Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets. Some service members are learning that they will be discharged