Transgender Military Service

in the United States

by Gary J. Gates and Jody L. Herman
May 2014

Introduction Figure 1. Estimates of military service among transgender adults,

by type of service.
This research brief offers analyses from several data
sources to estimate the number of transgender
individuals who have served in the US armed forces, Transgender Military Service:
including the number who are likely on active duty 149,800
or serving in the Guard or Reserve forces, and the
number who are veterans or retired from Guard or
Reserve service.

On September 20, 2011, the military policy known as Active

Dont Ask, Dont Tell (DADT) ended, allowing gay, Veterans, duty,
retired Guard/
lesbian, and bisexual service members to serve Guard/ Reserve
openly. Yet, military medical policies still exclude Reserve 15,500
transgender people from serving openly in the US 134,300
armed forces.1 These medical policies lay out
exclusions for what are deemed to be psychosexual
disorders, including transsexualism, cross-dressing,
or a history of gender transition.2 Therefore,
transgender individuals who wish to join the US
armed forces are prohibited from doing so if their
transgender status is known. Furthermore, those
already serving can be medically discharged if Data and methodology
suspected of being transgender. The primary data source for the estimates of
transgender military service is the National
Our estimates suggest that approximately 15,500 Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), which
transgender individuals are serving on active duty or was conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian
in the Guard or Reserve forces. We also estimate Task Force and the National Center for Transgender
that there are an estimated 134,300 transgender Equality.3 This 70-item survey was distributed in
individuals who are veterans or are retired from cooperation with over 900 organizations across the
Guard or Reserve service (see Figure 1). United States and also was announced through
listservs and online communities. It was made
available both online and on paper in English and
Spanish. The survey was fielded over six months
beginning in fall 2008 and resulted in 6,546 valid
responses, which is the largest sample of
transgender people in the US to date.4 Respondents
answered questions about a broad array of topics,
including whether they had served in the US armed
forces in the following question:

1 Kerrigan, M.F. 2012. Transgender discrimination

in the military: The new Dont Ask Dont Tell. Psychology,
Public Policy, and Law 18(3): 500518.; Harrison-Quintana, J.
and Herman, J.L. 2013. Still Serving in Silence: 3 The NTDS defined transgender broadly to include those whose
Transgender Service Members and Veterans gender identity or expression differs from those traditionally
in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey. LGBTQ associated with their assigned sex at birth. This includes, but is
Policy Journal at the Harvard Kennedy School, Volume 3, 2012- not limited to, those who self-identify as transgender, transsexual,
2013. genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and cross-dressers.
2 Witten, T. M. 2007. Gender identity and the 4 Grant, J.M. et al. 2011. Injustice at every turn: A report of the

militaryTransgender, transsexual, and intersex-identified National Transgender Discrimination Survey. Washington, DC:
individuals in the U.S. Armed Forces. Santa Barbara, CA: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and National Center for
Palm Center.; Harrison-Quintana and Herman, see note #1. Transgender Equality.

1
Have you ever been a member of the armed forces? respondents such that they have the age and
Yes educational attainment patterns of the US
No population. Military service rates also differ by race
I was denied entry because I am and ethnicity. Unfortunately, the race and ethnicity
transgender/gender non-conforming categories used in the NTDS are not consistent with
those used in Census Bureau surveys. Educational
As a purposive sample of transgender adults in the attainment, like race and ethnicity, captures some of
US, estimates derived directly from the NTDS could the variation in socio-economic status which may
be biased if the true demographic characteristics of contribute to differences in military service rates.
the transgender population differ from the
characteristics of transgender respondents to the This adjustment effectively assumes that being
survey. For example, relative to the US population, transgender is not associated with age or educational
NTDS respondents are younger and report higher attainment. It also leads to estimates of military
levels of education. Both factors would be associated service rates for the transgender population that are
with lower levels of lifetime military service. Given slightly higher than the unadjusted calculations from
the lack of demographic data on the transgender the NTDS, which includes younger and more
population derived from population-based sources, educated individuals who are less likely to report
it is not possible to determine if the age and military service than older or less educated
educational attainment levels of NTDS respondents individuals. Alternatively, if the NTDS age and
are different from the general US population because educational patterns are actually reflective of the
younger and more educated transgender individuals transgender population in the US, then the
were more likely than others to have completed the adjustment procedure would produce estimates of
survey (known as selection bias) or if transgender transgender military service that may be higher than
individuals are, in fact, younger and more likely to true military service rates among transgender
have higher levels of education compared to the individuals.
general population.5
Population age and educational attainment data are
More than 93% of NTDS respondents provided derived from analyses of the US Census Bureaus
information using an online web-based survey. 2011 American Community Survey.
Samples from online surveys are often biased toward
more educated respondents. Reisner and colleagues The estimation procedure also assumes that NTDS
(2014) found that NTDS respondents who used respondents who report that they were assigned
paper survey forms tended to report lower income male at birth share the age and educational
and educational levels.6 It is possible that the web- attainment patterns of the adult male population in
based approach of the NTDS contributed to selection the US while NTDS respondents that were assigned
bias toward higher education, which would result in female at birth share the patterns of the adult female
a bias toward lower military service. population. We make this assumption and report
differences based on the sex assigned at birth
To address these possible biases, the estimates of because it is likely that most transgender veterans
military service among the transgender population and service members would have entered and served
in these analyses adjust the characteristics of NTDS in the military according to their sex assigned at
birth. Estimates for the total number of transgender
individuals who are currently or have ever served in
5 Several studies have found higher levels of education among
transgender individuals. These include: Xavier, J., Hannold, J.A., the military are derived separately for those assigned
and Bradford, J. 2007. The Health, Health-related Needs, and male at birth (approximately 60% of the total NTDS
Lifecourse Experiences of Transgender Virginians. Richmond, sample) and those assigned female at birth
VA: Virginia HIV Community Planning Committee and Virginia (approximately 40% of the total NTDS sample).
Department of Health; Hartzell, E., Frazer, M. S., Wertz, K. and
Davis, M. 2009. The State of Transgender California: Results
from the 2008 California Transgender Economic Health Survey. Men are substantially more likely than women to
San Francisco, CA: Transgender Law Center; Jenness, V., Sexton, serve in the US military. The estimates of
L., Sumner, J. 2011. Transgender Inmates in Californias transgender military service assume that, consistent
Prisons: An Empirical Study of a Vulnerable Population. Report
submitted to the California Department of Corrections and with findings from the NTDS, approximately 60% of
Rehabilitation, State of California. Sacramento, California. the transgender population was assigned male at
6 Reisner, S.L., Conron, K., Scout, Mimiaga, M.J., Haneuse, S.,
birth while 40% was assigned female at birth. If, in
Austin, S.B. 2014. Comparing In-Person and Online Survey fact, the transgender population is comprised of a
Respondents in the U.S. National Transgender Discrimination
Survey: Implications for Transgender Health Research . LGBT larger portion of individuals assigned male at birth,
Health 1(2): 98-106. then the estimation procedure likely understates

2
transgender military service. Conversely, if those of transgender adults in each category is estimated
assigned female at birth are actually a larger by applying these same proportions to the estimated
proportion of the transgender population, then the number of transgender individuals who report any
estimation procedure may overstate transgender service in the armed forces.
military service.
Transgender military service
The estimation begins by calculating the percent of Analyses of the unadjusted NTDS data show that
NTDS respondents who report military service by 29.6% of respondents assigned male at birth
their age and educational attainment status. reported that they have served in the armed forces
Respondents are separated into five age categories along with 6.0% of those assigned female at birth. In
and five educational attainment categories as total, 20% of NTDS respondents reported some type
follows: of military service.
Age (a)
o 18-24 Assuming NTDS reported rates of military service
o 25-44 are true of the transgender population in the US,
o 45-54 Figure 2 shows adjusted estimates of military service
o 55-64 for the transgender population (separated by sex
o 65 and older assigned at birth) and for adult men and women in
Education (e) the US. When figures are adjusted such that the age
o Less than high school and educational patterns of the US adult male and
o High school diploma female population are applied to the NTDS sample,
o Some college an estimated 21.4% of transgender individuals have
o College degree served in the military. The adjusted estimates
o Graduate degree suggest that 32.0% of those assigned male at birth
and 5.5% of those assigned female at birth have
The percent of NTDS respondents who report service served.
in the armed forces is calculated for those in each
age/education category (milae). Data from the 2011 Figure 2. Adjusted estimates of service in the armed forces
among transgender individuals and estimates of
American Community Survey Public Use Microdata service by adults in the US, by sex or sex assigned at
Sample (ACS PUMS) are used to calculate the birth.
percent of adults age 18 and older who are within
each age and education category (pae). 32.0%

The adjusted estimate for transgender military

service MILadj determines what the military service 21.4%
19.7%
patterns of NTDS respondents (separated by sex
assigned at birth) would be if they had the same age
and educational attainment levels of the male and
10.4%
female population in the US by calculating a
weighted average as follows: 5.5%
1.7%

Assigned Assigned All Male Female All

male at female at
In the US, approximately 5.8% of all adults who have birth birth
ever served in the armed forces are currently on Transgender population Adults in the US population
active duty and 4.4% are now serving in the Guard or
Reserve. An estimated 86.8% are veterans who
served on active duty in the past and 3.0% are By comparison, approximately 10.7% of adults in the
retired from Guard or Reserve service.7 The number US have served. This implies that transgender

7The US Census Bureaus 2012 Statistical Abstract, Table 511

reports that 1,481,000 individuals are on active duty in the US Factfinder, Table B21002, show that an estimated 21.5 million
military. Table 513 indicates that approximately 1.1 million Americans are civilian veterans. It should be noted that estimates
individuals are serving in the Ready, Standby, and Retired of the number of veterans and reservists may not be mutually
Reserve forces. Findings from the 2011 American Community exclusive as some reservists may be veterans with prior service on
Survey, as reported on the US Census Bureaus American active duty in the military.

3
 individuals are about twice as likely as adults in the The estimates also suggest that there are more than
US to have served their country in the armed forces. 134,000 transgender individuals in the US who are
Transgender individuals assigned female at birth are veterans or have retired from Guard or Reserve
nearly three times more likely than all adult women service (see Figure 4).
and those assigned male at birth are 1.6 times more
Figure 4. Estimates of veterans and retired Guard/Reserve
likely than all adult men to serve.
service among transgender adults, by type of service
and sex assigned at birth.
Gates (2011) estimates that approximately 700,000
adults in the US are transgender.8 If, like in the Veterans and Retired Guard/Reserve:
NTDS, this group is 60% male assigned at birth and 134,300
40% female assigned at birth, then the estimates
above imply that there are approximately 150,000 Veterans
(assigned
transgender adults in the US who are now serving or female)
who have served in the armed forces. 11,400
Retired
In the US, 5.4% of men who report any military Guard/
service are on active duty along with 9.8% of women. Reserve
Applying these figures to the estimates of (assigned
Veterans male)
transgender military service would imply that (assigned 3,600
approximately 8,800 transgender individuals are male)
currently on active duty, of whom nearly 7,300 are 118,300 Retired
Guard/
assigned male at birth and about 1,500 are assigned Reserve
female at birth. The estimates also suggest that (assigned
6,700 transgender individuals are serving in the female)
Guard or Reserve forces, of whom 5,300 are 1,000
assigned male at birth and 1,400 are assigned female
at birth (see Figure 3).
These estimates imply that approximately 0.6% of
Figure 3. Estimates of active duty and Guard/Reserve service adults who report service in the armed forces are
among transgender adults, by type of service and sex transgender.
assigned at birth.
Discussion
Data that allow for a direct tabulation of the number
Active Duty and Guard/Reserve: 15,500
of transgender individuals who serve in the US
military simply do not exist. The estimates in this
Guard/ research brief rely on a variety of assumptions that
Reserve could affect their accuracy.
(assigned
female)
Men are more likely to serve in the military than are
1,400
women. If individuals assigned male at birth are, in
Active
fact, more than 60% of the transgender population,
duty
(assigned then transgender military service is likely
Guard/
male) understated in these estimates. Conversely, if those
Reserve
7,300 assigned female at birth represent more than 40% of
(assigned
male) the transgender population, then estimates of
Active 5,300 transgender military service are likely overstated.
duty
(assigned The estimates also assume that the transgender
female) population shares the age and educational
1,500 attainment characteristics of the US population. If
the true transgender population is younger and more
educated than the US population (consistent with
the NTDS sample), then the estimates could be
8 Estimates of the size of the transgender population from
national population-based surveys do not exist. This estimate is overstating transgender military service.
based on two state-level population-based surveys in which
questions regarding transgender status implied a gender Despite these possible biases, the estimates certainly
transition or at least discordance between sex at birth and current suggest that transgender individuals are part of the
gender presentation.

4
US armed forces, perhaps in portions that exceed About the Institute
that of the general population. The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at UCLA
There is other evidence that transgender individuals School of Law advances law and public policy
represent a larger portion of those in the military through rigorous, independent research and
than their proportion among adults in the US scholarship, and disseminates its work through a
population. In a survey of transgender people variety of education programs and media to judges,
assigned male at birth, Shipherd et al. found that 30 legislators, lawyers, other policymakers and the
percent had served in the military, which is similar public.
to military service among transgender people
assigned male at birth in the NTDS.9 A recent study For more information
by Blosnich et al. reviewed all health records of The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law
veterans receiving health care through the Veterans Box 951476
Health Administration (VHA) from 2000 through Los Angeles, CA 900951476
2011 and found a prevalence of Gender Identity (310)2674382
Disorder (GID) five times that of the US general [email protected]
population.10 Though individuals with GID www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute
diagnoses may or may not identify as transgender,
the substantially higher prevalence of GID among Citation
veterans in the VHA system provides further Gates, GJ and Herman, JL. 2014. Transgender
evidence that transgender people are over- Military Service in the United States. Williams
represented in the US military. Institute, UCLA School of Law.

About the authors

Gary J. Gates, PhD is the Williams Distinguished
Scholar and a national expert in the demographic,
geographic, and economic characteristics of the
LGBT population.

Jody L. Herman, PhD, is the Peter J. Cooper

Public Policy Fellow and Manager of Transgender
Research at the Williams Institute, UCLA School of
Law.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Aaron Belkin and
Allyson Robinson for providing us with thoughtful
insights for this study. The authors would also like
to thank Brad Sears and Amira Hasenbush for their
contributions to this study. Finally, the authors
would like to thank the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force and the National Center for Transgender
Equality for the use of the NTDS dataset.

9 Shipherd, J.C., Mizock, L., Maguen, S., and Green, K.E. 2012.
Male-to-female transgender veterans and VA health care
utilization. International Journal of Sexual Health 24(1): 7887.
10 Blosnich, J.R., Brown, G.R., Shipherd, J.C., Kauth, M. PhD,

Piegari, R.I., and Bossarte, R.M. 2013. Prevalence of Gender

Identity Disorder and Suicide Risk Among Transgender Veterans
Utilizing Veterans Health Administration Care. American Journal
of Public Health 103(10): e27-e32. Gender Identity Disorder
was removed for the DSM-V, which now includes gender
dysphoria.