The US defence department has approved a new policy that will largely bar transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex.
The memo outlining the new policy, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, it comes after a lengthy and complicated legal battle.
The policy requires most individuals to serve in their birth gender but falls short of the all-out transgender ban that was initially ordered by President Donald Trump.
It will likely force the military to eventually discharge transgender individuals who need hormone treatments or surgery, and unable to serve in their birth gender.
The order says the military services must implement the new policy in 30 days, giving some individuals a short window of time to qualify for gender transition.
The memo lays out guidelines for discharging service members based on the new policy.
It says a service member can be discharged based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria if he or she is "unable or unwilling to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with his or her biological sex, or seeks transition to another gender".
It adds that troops must be formally counselled and given a chance to change their decision before the discharge is finalised.
An estimated 14,700 US troops on active duty and in the Reserves identify as transgender, but not all seek treatment.
Since July 2016, more than 1500 service members were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. As of February 1, there were 1071 currently serving.
Last year, all four service chiefs told Congress that they had seen no discipline, morale or unit readiness problems with transgender troops serving openly in the military.
But they also acknowledged that some commanders were spending a lot of time with transgender individuals who were working through medical requirements and other transition issues.
The five transgender troops who testified in February said their medical transitions took anywhere from four weeks to four months and they did most of it on their own time. All said they were fit to return to deploying afterward.
