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After 17 years of service in the US Army, Maj. Kara Corcoran, 39, was poised to graduate from a prestigious military leadership program.
However, a significant obstacle arose.
Two days prior to the graduation ceremony, Maj. Corcoran was informed that she was required to adhere to male regulations. This mandate entailed wearing a male uniform and cutting the long, blonde hair she had cultivated since disclosing her identity as a woman to the Army in 2018.
The directive originated from the Pentagon and was disseminated through her chain of command at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
“I am not a man in any way, yet I am being compelled to conform to male regulations solely to participate in the ceremony alongside my peers,” she stated in the hours leading up to the event. “Cutting my hair is not my choice; I am doing so out of necessity.”
Maj. Corcoran is one of several thousand transgender individuals affected by a ban, announced by then-President Donald Trump in January, which prohibits them from serving in any capacity in the US military.
An earlier ban during his first term focused on new recruits and allowed for certain exceptions, particularly for those already enlisted. The 2025 policy effectively eliminates nearly all exceptions.
Official figures indicate approximately 4,200 transgender service members in the US armed forces, although other estimates place the number considerably higher, at around 10,000.
The new policy asserts that a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria—a condition in which a person’s gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth—is “incompatible with the rigorous mental and physical standards required for military service.”
An executive order outlined Trump’s position that “the Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology” and that the policy would ensure staff were “free of medical conditions or physical defects that may reasonably be expected to require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalisation.”
The order further stated that “a man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness 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 US military, but support has declined from 71% in 2019 and 66% in 2021.”
Critics have denounced the ban as discriminatory, and legal challenges have been filed by serving transgender officers and human rights organizations.
Since February, the BBC has been documenting the experiences of Maj. Kara Corcoran and Lt. Rae Timberlake, a Navy officer, as they navigate the uncertainties surrounding their military careers. They have shared their personal perspectives and feelings, not as official representatives of the US military or their colleagues.
Maj. Corcoran has dedicated the majority of her adult life to the US Army. Her combat deployments include service in Afghanistan, where she served as both a platoon leader and a company commander while living as a man, prior to her transition. She states that she has since legally changed her name and gender and uses female pronouns.
Transgender individuals were prohibited from serving in any capacity in the military until 2016. However, US policy has fluctuated over the past decade with changes in administrations.
“For a considerable time, I remained silent,” says Maj. Corcoran. When she enlisted in 2008, women were also barred from combat positions.
Maj. Corcoran married a woman and had children, though the relationship dissolved as she grappled with her identity.
Maj. Corcoran came out as a transgender woman in 2018 and commenced her hormonal and surgical transition. She reports having had the support of her commanding officers, who were still operating under the previous guidelines, despite Trump’s 2017 ban. She tells the BBC that her transition has enhanced her ability to serve.
“It has made me more focused and more resilient,” she says. “There is a common misconception that transitioning is a liability. For me, it has been the opposite.”
Now, with Trump’s latest policy in effect, Maj. Corcoran has been informed that unless she leaves voluntarily, she may be involuntarily separated from the service.
Involuntary separation occurs when a service member is discharged against their will. This can affect any service member, not just those in combat roles.
In addition to losing their jobs, individuals may also forfeit benefits such as pensions, healthcare, and disability provisions.
The Department of Defense has stated that those who undergo involuntary separation may receive half of what they would receive if they left voluntarily—a difference that could amount to tens of thousands of dollars.
Despite these potential consequences, Maj. Kara Corcoran maintains that she does not wish to leave.
“I will not voluntarily separate,” she states. “I will endure the involuntary separation process and whatever difficulties they choose to impose on me and other service members.”
Conversely, figures like former US Navy Seal Carl Higbie support Trump’s ban. Higbie, who now hosts a TV show on the conservative network Newsmax,
believes that transgender individuals are unfit for service in the US military, arguing that gender dysphoria may necessitate ongoing medical care and accommodations that could compromise deployability.
“You can’t take Ritalin [used to treat ADHD] or certain other prescription medications and be an eligible service member in combat. Why should one be on hormone therapy, which we know can sometimes have emotional effects?” he asks.
When asked if he believes that biological women, who may be on hormone-containing medications such as menopause treatments, are fit to serve in the armed forces, he responded: “I think there are certain times when we should be more concerned about killing bad guys than ensuring that we have gender quotas on a combat operation.”
The ban on transgender service members is part of a broader shift in US military policy. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a Trump appointee and former army officer, has moved to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
“I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength’,” Hegseth stated at a Pentagon event in February.
In April, he posted on X that he “proudly ended” the Women, Peace, and Security program, an initiative aimed at increasing the participation of women and girls in conflict resolution. He called it a distraction from the core task of “war-fighting.”
Many had anticipated the policy shift. In the early hours of November 6, when Trump secured victory in the 2024 US presidential election, Lt. Rae Timberlake made a critical decision.
A non-binary Navy officer, Lt. Timberlake joined the Navy at 17 and has served aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and in the Middle East.
Lt. Timberlake falls under the trans umbrella because, although registered female at birth, they identify as neither male nor female and use they/them pronouns.
Lt. Timberlake says that coming out as non-binary in 2020 and transitioning brought clarity to their identity. “The moment I heard the word ‘non-binary’, I knew it fit,” they told the BBC.
However, with Trump’s 2024 victory, Lt. Timberlake felt that their career was under threat. They requested a transfer from their West Coast base to a base closer to their family in the east, who could provide support.
Lt. Timberlake, their wife, and daughter moved in the middle of a school term, anticipating that separation from the Navy was imminent.
“It felt like the safest move for us, in case I was forced to leave the service,” says Lt. Timberlake.
They added that they were not surprised by Trump’s executive order in January or a memorandum from the Department of Defense the following month.
The memo specified that military bases must identify service members diagnosed with or exhibiting symptoms of gender dysphoria. The final deadlines for voluntary self-identification were set as June 6 for active-duty personnel and July 7 for reserve and National Guard members.
In May, the Department of Defense announced that 1,000 service personnel had self-identified as trans, but no update has been provided since.
The military has 30 days from the deadline to initiate involuntary separation proceedings.
The memo includes a provision for case-by-case waivers. One condition is that staff must have “never attempted to transition to any sex other than their sex.”
By the time the memorandum was published, Lt. Timberlake had assumed a new post in Maryland, and their family was adjusting to their new home.
“Watching Rae lose their career is painful,” says their wife, Lindsay. “We’re in survival mode. We haven’t had time to connect as a family. We just keep making hard choices.”
For Lt. Timberlake, the emotional toll has been significant. They have decided to seek more control over their future and have requested retirement from the Navy, believing that they have thus self-identified for voluntary separation. While the application has not yet been accepted, Lt. Timberlake expects it will be.
They anticipate substantial financial implications. Without completing 20 years of service, Lt. Timberlake says they will likely forfeit eligibility for a military pension. They estimate that pension payments could have amounted to approximately $2.5 million (£1.8 million) over the course of their retirement.
While the Department of Defense asserts that the ban will maintain consistent medical and readiness standards across the forces, opponents argue that the policy unfairly targets a vulnerable group.
Three lawsuits have been filed challenging the ban’s legality.
In one high-profile ruling, a federal judge temporarily blocked the ban, citing constitutional concerns and alleging gender identity discrimination. However, in April, the Supreme Court lifted the injunction, allowing the policy to proceed while litigation continues.
The legal uncertainty has left transgender service members in a state of limbo.
Lt. Timberlake has found the job hunt in the civilian sector to be difficult. “I applied for a position that had over 800 applicants in one day,” they said, adding that civilian life will offer less security than the Navy. “It’s competitive and daunting out there.”
But they say that the next chapter is about not feeling “under threat for who I am.”
Maj. Corcoran did not self-identify by the June 6 deadline and is awaiting notification of potential separation from the military. The 30-day window indicates that notification should occur by July 6. She will assess her options from that point.
The US Department of Defense declined to provide a statement to the BBC but referenced previous statements affirming a commitment to treating all service members impacted by the policy with dignity and respect. A US defense official said that “characterization of service will be honorable except where the service member’s record otherwise warrants a lower characterization.”
For now, Maj. Corcoran remains at her base in Fort Leavenworth but is prepared to leave with little notice if necessary. She has converted her car into a mobile home equipped with a power bank, cooking equipment, and a fold-out mattress. “I have an eight-gallon water tank on top. I fill it up, pump it with an air compressor, and I can take a shower out in the wild. At least I have somewhere to live.”
Upon graduating from the leadership program with distinction, after complying with male uniform and grooming standards, she stated that it “meant a lot, but how I had to do it felt like erasing my identity.”
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