Trump orders military shake-up: Vaccine rehires and pronoun bans
U.S. President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on Monday. He reinstated thousands of soldiers who were discharged for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic. He also limited the presence of transgender individuals in the military.
Trump signed the orders while travelling by plane from Miami to Washington. One of them states that expressing a "gender identity" different from the sex assigned at birth does not meet military standards.
End of "invented" pronouns
The order bans the use of "invented" pronouns in the military, as described by his entourage, but it does not address basic questions such as whether transgender individuals currently serving in the military will be able to remain in service, and if not, how they will be removed from it.
Trump's plans have faced sharp criticism from human rights groups, which claim that his actions are unlawful.
During his first term, Trump announced his intention to ban transgender people from serving in the military. However, he never fully realised this ban – his administration froze the recruitment of transgender individuals while allowing those who were already serving to remain. Biden rescinded this decision upon taking office in 2021.
According to Department of Defense data, the military consists of about 1.3 million active members. While transgender rights advocates estimate that as many as 15,000 transgender people serve in the military, officials state that the number is in the thousands.
All programmes promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are also to be eliminated, which according to the White House, constitute discrimination.
Soldiers return to service. They will receive back pay
Another order reinstates military members who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Data provided by different branches of the armed forces shows that about 8,200 soldiers were discharged for refusing to comply with the vaccination requirement imposed by the Pentagon.
As announced by the new head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, these soldiers are to be reinstated to their previous ranks and receive back pay.
However, the COVID-19 vaccination mandate was lifted in 2023, and as noted by the AP agency, only 43 of the 8,000 discharged soldiers returned to service at that time.
Trump also signed an order mandating the construction of a "next-generation missile defence shield" to protect the U.S. from advanced missiles.
source: PAP / AP / CNN
