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

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.

Tags: Defense Department, Military, Navy

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