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Updated Data Shows Media Grossly Overestimated The Number of U.S. Military Transgender Personnel

Updated Data Shows Media Grossly Overestimated The Number of U.S. Military Transgender Personnel

“some outlets fearmongered that up to 15,000 service members would be booted. But…only four ‘transgender servicemembers’ have been ‘removed from the military so far under the new Trump administration policy.'”

In early May, we reported that the U.S. military had begun out-processing of military members who identified as transgender, Pentagon Begins Process of Removing Transgender Personnel.

But one aspect of the process that has just come to light is how the media grossly over-reported the number and potential impact of such out-processing.

The Federalist has the story: Further Data Shows Media Wildly Overestimated Number Of Trans Troops:

In the weeks surrounding Trump’s inauguration, the left-wing media insisted the administration’s effort to remove trans troops from the military would weaken the force — some outlets fearmongered that up to 15,000 service members would be booted. But numbers recently obtained by journalist Chris Bray from the Department of Defense indicate that only four “transgender servicemembers” have been “removed from the military so far under the new Trump administration policy.”

In May, the Department of Defense released a memo laying out how “Service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria may elect to separate voluntarily.” At the time, the agency estimated 1,000 troops who self-identified as having gender dysphoria would “begin the voluntary separation process.” According to Bray’s reporting, citing a DoD official, of 1,404 troops who self-identified as of May, only four have completed the process of separation. The rest are “pending.”

Nonetheless, as Bray also notes, the media will surely continue pushing the claim that Trump’s efforts to “prioritize military excellence” will boot “thousands” from the force.

“Abruptly discharging 15,000-plus service members, especially given that the military’s recruiting targets fell short by 41,000 recruits last year, adds administrative burdens to war fighting units, harms unit cohesion, and aggravates critical skill gaps,” Rachel Branaman, former executive director of LGBT activist group Modern Military Association of America, told The Times after Trump was elected. “There would be a significant financial cost, as well as a loss of experience and leadership that will take possibly 20 years and billions of dollars to replace.”

Bray has pointed out that the 15,000 estimate is from a study by the “now-defunct” Palm Center, which used a questionable process to find their final number. As a Defense Department official recently told The Federalist’s Shawn Fleetwood, about 4,200 “active-duty, Guard and Reserve service members [were] serving diagnosed with gender dysphoria” as of February. Even if more trans troops leave or are removed from the military over the next few years, both the 4,200 and 1,400 numbers are still a far cry from 15,000.

Multiple outlets, including Newsweek, The IndependentThe New York TimesCBS News, and NPR, regurgitated the 15,000 number in recent months. Although some outlets acknowledged the 4,000 estimate from the DoD earlier this year, they still clearly chided the Trump administration’s efforts…

Despite media fearmongering about the Trump administration’s efforts, the ArmyNavyAir Force, and Space Force all met their recruitment goals months early this year.

Same old media, same old story.

And in other military transgender news, Harpy Daniels, the Navy’s transgender drag queen, is reenlisting:

As if he hasn’t caused enough problems for everyone.

Navy Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, aka drag queen Harpy Daniels, who the Navy used as a recruitment influencer back in the Biden/Austin years (which then broke the internet), and who recently caused a Navy flag officer’s promotion to get tanked, has posted on social media that he has re-enlisted in the Navy for another four years…

Note: read this investigation by America First Legal. Below is the 2022 post where he talked about being a Digital Ambassador for the Navy for recruitment purposes.

I’m not going to publish any more pictures of Petty Officer Kelley. If you’re interested, check the links above or our previous posts on the subject here: Navy Drag Queen Recruiters – Definitive Evidence that the Military has Lost Its Way, or here: ‘Harpy Daniels’ Update – Navy Disavows Endorsement of Social Media by Its Own Drag Queen “Digital Ambassador”.

Why Kelley is being allowed to reenlist after his drag queen antics and gross criticism of President Trump is a mystery to me.

We’ll keep tabs on this for you if anything else pops up.

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Comments

Did corporal Klinger finally get his section 8?

Eighty-three percent of all statistics are made up.

Weird how they talk about recruiting shortfalls last year, but not recruiting numbers this year.

The correct number of military transgender individuals should be zero. Such people are profoundly psychologically unstable and have no business being anywhere near classified information or major weaponry.

Rusty Bill, former TSgt [E-6}, USAF

Capitalist-Dad | August 4, 2025 at 8:56 am

This assumes the left media was trying to make an honest count to begin with. More likely it was simply making up numbers to support the official Democrat Party line.

I wonder if you just stop cross dressing if that’s enough to avoid discharge. Perhaps the other 14,996 “transgender servicemembers” just got a new wardrobe?

    DaveGinOly in reply to Wiscer. | August 4, 2025 at 1:02 pm

    “Transgender” includes both person with body dysphoria and those who have acted on their dysphoria to become “transexuals.” Those who are just larping at being a different sex and are just playing “dress-up” are “transvestites.”

    MASH’s Klinger was the latter. Back in olden times, just playing dress-up was enough to get you booted from military service. Klinger couldn’t get booted because everyone knew it was an act and that he wasn’t actually psychologically disturbed.

“Further Data Shows Media Wildly Overestimated Number Of Trans Troops”

“Further Further Data Shows Democrats Wildly Overestimated Number Of Trans Voters”

“Abruptly discharging 15,000-plus service members, especially given that the military’s recruiting targets fell short by 41,000 recruits last year”

Right, except they ain’t falling short any more. In fact, I heard there was a surplus. Once again, all we needed was a new President.

destroycommunism | August 4, 2025 at 9:32 am

deploy female only into war zones

equality

    henrybowman in reply to destroycommunism. | August 4, 2025 at 11:00 am

    One has only to look to police and fire departments to learn what damage this causes to the morale of everyone else. Let’s not stupidly repeat tragic experiments when we already know the results.

    AF_Chief_Master_Sgt in reply to destroycommunism. | August 4, 2025 at 6:12 pm

    Equality for women in the military is the equivalent to “equality” in the civilian world.

    They want equality as long as the job is in an air conditioned building, only requiring a schedule Monday through Friday, weekends and holidays off.

    And, just like the civilian world, you will find an extremely small (measured in size of Hakim Jeffries little johnson) number of women who will do the dirty jobs, and then the morons can say “See! Women do those jobs, too!”

    But most women are med/dental techs, personnel, admin, finance, legal, and other desk jobs.

    Even as pilots, women make up 8 to 9 %.

The services used to discharge members for being gay. I think they had to have evidence of this though. Remember “Don’t ask, don’t tell?”

    DaveGinOly in reply to Tom M. | August 4, 2025 at 1:09 pm

    The rationale for that has largely evaporated. Gays were considered security risks because they could be blackmailed back in the day when being gay was something that had to be concealed. There was also the argument that their presence in a unit could be detrimental to the unit’s morale (partly so because they may be security risks, putting other unit members in danger). Society’s general acceptance of gays has obsoleted these arguments against gays’ service.

      ztakddot in reply to DaveGinOly. | August 4, 2025 at 4:49 pm

      I;m more concerned with women in combat billets than I am gays in the military. Not all gays are like SF or Greenwich Village gays.

One is too many.

Make a rule that if you want to be a woman then have your willie removed. If not, no intermingling with real women. That would lower the number to almost zero. And do the reverse for women who want to be men, no willie no man.

Gross is indeed the operative term here.