Transgender AFA cadets graduate, but aren’t commissioned under Trump administration ban

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Though transgender cadets at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) were able to graduate alongside their peers on Thursday, they weren't commissioned as officers due to a ban on transgender military service members recently enacted by the Trump administration.

According to a spokesperson for the Academy, graduating cadets with "a current diagnosis, a history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria," were allowed to complete their programs and graduate from their respective programs during the USAFA ceremony on May 26 – but were not commissioned into the Air Force or Space Force with their classmates.

Instead, upon graduation, the spokesperson said they were placed on administrative absence.

The Academy is now encouraging its transgender grads to apply for voluntary separation by June 6, and says those who choose to separate voluntarily will not face monetary repayment obligations or military service commitments.

"Individuals who do not voluntarily separate will be counseled that, at the conclusion of the voluntary separation window, involuntary separation processes will be initiated," a statement from a USAFA spokesperson read in part.

The Academy's policy reflects a Supreme Court decision made earlier this month, which allowed the Trump administration to immediately begin enforcing a ban on transgender military service members.

READ MORE: Supreme Court allows Trump to begin enforcing ban on transgender military service members

Under the ban, “service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria will be processed for separation from military service,” according to a memo obtained by CNN.

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