[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 [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02034]


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  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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    January 25, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-02034
Filed 1-27-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P