After 17 years in the U.S. Army, Major Kara Corcoran, 39, was preparing to graduate from an elite military leadership program.

But there was a complication.

Two days before At the ceremony, Corcoran was told she would have to conform to masculine norms, which meant wearing a male uniform and cutting the long blond hair she had grown since notifying the Army in 2018 that she identified as a woman. The directive came from the Pentagon and filtered down through her chain of command at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. “There’s nothing masculine about me, but I’m going to be forced to conform to masculine norms just so I can walk across the stage with my fellow soldiers,” she said in the hours before the ceremony. “It’s not my choice to cut my hair. I do it because I have to.”

A previous ban, during his first term, focused on new recruits and allowed some exceptions, especially for those already in service. The 2025 policy eliminates virtually all exceptions.

Official figures indicate there are about 4,200 transgender service members in the U.S. armed forces, though other estimates are much higher, around 10,000.

The new policy states that a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria when a person feels their gender differs from their registered sex at birth is “incompatible with the high mental and physical standards required for military service.”

An executive order summarized President Trump’s stance that “the Armed Forces have been affected by a radical gender ideology” and that the policy would ensure that personnel were “free from medical conditions or physical defects that would require excessive time off duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization.”

The order also ruled that “a man’s claim that he is a woman and his demand that others respect this falsehood is not compatible with the straightforwardness and dedication required of a service member.”

A Gallup poll conducted in February of this year suggested that 58% of Americans “favor allowing openly transgender men and women to serve in the U.S. military, but support has declined from 71% in 2019 to 66% in 2021.”

Critics have called the ban discriminatory, and legal challenges have been filed by serving transgender officers and human rights groups.

Since February, the BBC has followed the lives of Commander Corcoran and a fellow naval officer, Lieutenant Rae Timberlake, as they grapple with the uncertainty of their military careers.

They have shared their thoughts and feelings in their personal capacities, not as spokespersons for the US military or other colleagues.

A career in turmoil

Corcoran has spent most of her adult life in the US Army. Her combat deployments included a stint in Afghanistan, where she was a platoon leader and company commander, when she identified as male before her transition.

She says she has since legally changed her name and gender and uses female pronouns.

Transgender people were excluded from all military positions until 2016, but in the last decade, with changes in administrations, US policy has shifted dramatically.

“For a long time, I stayed silent,” Corcoran says. When she enlisted in 2008, women were also barred from serving in combat roles.

She married a woman and had children, though the relationship broke up and ended while she was confirming her identity.

She came out as a transgender woman in 2018 and began her hormonal and surgical transition. She says she had the support of her superiors, who continued to work under the previous guidelines, despite Trump's 2017 ban. She tells the BBC that the transition improved her ability to serve in the military.

“It’s made me more focused, more resilient,” she says. “There’s a misconception that transition is a burden. For me, it’s been the opposite.”

Now, with Trump’s recent policy in place, Corcoran has been told that unless she leaves voluntarily, she could be forced to leave the service against her will through a process called “involuntary separation.”

This occurs when someone is discharged and does not choose to leave of their own free will. It can affect any service member, not just those in combat roles.

In addition to losing their job, people can also lose benefits, such as pensions, healthcare, and disability benefits.

The Department of Defense has stated that if someone leaves involuntarily, they can receive half of what they would get if they left voluntarily, which could be a difference of tens of thousands of dollars.

Despite this, Commander Corcoran says she does not want to leave.

“I will not accept voluntary separation,” she says. “I’m going to go through involuntary separation and see what it’s like and how horrible they want it to be for me and other service members.”

“The stupidest line in military history”

Others, like former U.S. Navy Seal Carl Higbie, support Trump’s ban. He currently hosts a television show on the conservative network Newsmax.

Higbie believes transgender people are unfit to serve in the U.S. military, arguing that gender dysphoria can require ongoing medical care and accommodations that could affect deployability.

“You can’t take Ritalin [used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] or certain types of prescription drugs and be a fit-for-duty combat member. Why would you be on hormone therapy, which we know sometimes has emotional effects?” he questions.

When asked if he thought biological women, who can take other hormone-containing medications, such as menopause treatments, are fit to serve in the military, he replied, “I think there are times when we should be more concerned about taking down the bad guys than making sure we meet gender quotas in a combat operation.”

The ban on members Transgender discrimination in the military is part of a broader shift in U.S. military policy: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Army officer appointed by Trump, has moved to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

“I think the stupidest phrase in military history is 'our diversity is our strength,'” Hegseth said at a Pentagon event in February.

And in April, she posted on X that she had “proudly ended” the Women, Peace and Security program, an initiative to invite more women and girls to participate in conflict resolution.

She called it a distraction from the fundamental task of “fighting the war.”

A family on the brink of change

Now a non-binary naval officer, she joined the Navy at 17 and has served aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and in the Middle East.

She identifies as transgender because, although she was registered female at birth, she does not identify as either male or female and uses gender-neutral pronouns.

She says that coming out as non-binary in 2020 and transitioning helped clarify her identity. “As soon as I heard the term 'non-binary,' I knew I fit,” she tells the BBC.

But with Trump’s 2024 victory, she felt like time was running out on her career. He requested a transfer from his West Coast base to one closer to his family in the East, which could provide support.

Timberlake, his wife, and their daughter moved in the middle of the school year, anticipating a possible imminent separation from the Navy.

“It seemed like the safest decision for us, in case I was forced to leave the service,” he says.

The memo specified that military bases were to identify service members diagnosed with or exhibiting symptoms of gender dysphoria.

The deadlines to voluntarily come forward were eventually set at June 6 for active duty personnel and July 7 for reserve and National Guard members.

In May, the Department of Defense said that 1,000 service members had identified as transgender, but that number has not been updated since.

The military has 30 days from the deadline to begin involuntary separation proceedings.

The memo includes a provision for individuals to be considered for exemption on a case-by-case basis. There are some conditions, including that personnel “have never attempted to change to a sex other than their own.”

By the time the memo was released, Timberlake had accepted a new posting in Maryland, and the family was adjusting to their new home.

“Watching Rae lose her career is painful,” says his wife, Lindsay. “We’re in survival mode. We haven’t had time to connect as a family. We just keep making tough decisions.”

For Timberlake, the emotional toll has been high. He’s decided he wants more control over his future, so he requested retirement from the Navy, and believes that by doing so, he has self-identified for voluntary separation. The request hasn’t been accepted yet, but he believes it will happen.

He expects the financial implications to be substantial. Without reaching 20 years of service, he fears he will likely lose his right to a military pension. He estimates the pension payments could have totaled about $2.5 million over his retirement.

A Legal and Political Battle

While the Department of Defense says the ban will maintain consistent medical and readiness standards across the military, opponents argue the policy unfairly targets a vulnerable group.

Three lawsuits have been filed challenging its legality.

In a highly publicized ruling, a federal judge temporarily blocked the ban, citing questions about its constitutionality and suggesting it discriminated based on gender identity.

In April, however, the Supreme Court lifted the injunction, allowing the rule to move forward while the litigation continues.

The legal back-and-forth has left transgender members of the military in a state of uncertainty.

Timberlake has found it difficult to find civilian jobs. “I applied for a position that had over 800 applicants in one day,” she says, adding that civilian life offers less security than the Navy. “It’s competitive and daunting.”

But she says that in the next chapter of her life, she’ll try not to feel under “threat for being who I am.”

Looking ahead

Corcoran didn’t identify herself by the June 6 deadline, so she’s waiting to see if the military will designate her for separation; the 30-day deadline means that should happen by July 6. From there, we’ll see what happens.

The U.S. Department of Defense declined to comment to the BBC, but referred to previous statements affirming its commitment to treating all service members affected by the policy with dignity and respect.

One official said that “the characterization of the service will be honorable, except in cases where the service member’s record justifies a lesser characterization.”

For now, Corcoran remains at his base at Fort Leavenworth,but is prepared to leave without notice if necessary. She’s converted her car into a mobile home with a powerful charger, kitchen utensils, and a folding mattress.

“Plus, I have a 30-liter water tank. I fill it up, they pump it with an air compressor, and I can shower outside. At least I have a place to live.”

When she graduated with honors from the leadership program, after complying with male uniform and grooming standards, she said, “It meant a lot, but having to do it like this was like erasing my identity.”

“This involves people who have dedicated their lives to service and now they’re being told they’re no longer fit, not because of their performance, but because of who they are.”

Click here to read more stories from BBC News Mundo.

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