On August 6, 1862, Albert Cashier, a resident of Belvidere, Illinois, enlisted in the 95th Illinois Infantry. Remembered for his bravery, Cashier served valiantly during the United States Civil War. Cashier’s regiment, part of the Army of the Tennessee, fought in more than forty engagements. His regiment took part in the siege of Vicksburg, the Battle of Nashville, and the Red River Campaign, among others. Cashier was allegedly captured, and escaped by overpowering a prison guard.

After serving a full three-year enlistment with his regiment, his unit was disbanded, and Cashier returned to Illinois. He held several different jobs, working as a farmhand, church janitor, cemetery worker, and street lamplighter. Only decades later did the world discover that Albert Cashier had been named Jennie Hodgers at birth.

Cashier, born female, lived his life and served in the Union Army as male. While it was not entirely uncommon for women to dress as men to join in the fight, Cashier lived as male until his death. Many of his former brothers in arms, initially surprised by the discovery, were supportive of Cashier. He was buried in his uniform and received a tombstone inscribed with his male identity and military service.

Cashier’s service demonstrates that transgender service members are not new to the United States military. Open transgender service, first announced by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter on June 30, 2016, freed many transgender service members to seek transition-related care without fear that the decision to do so would negatively impact their careers. One year later, on July 26, 2017, the new Trump Administration declared, via a series of three “tweets” on Twitter, that the policy of open transgender service would be reversed, and transgender service members would have no place in the United States military.

The military’s reception of the abrupt redirection was cold at best. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford stated that he “believe[d] that any individual who meets the physical and mental standards . . . should be afforded the opportunity to serve.” After President Trump’s announcement on social media, fifty-six retired generals and admirals signed a declaration stating that a policy effectively banning open service by transgender individuals would degrade military readiness.

The announcement of the Trump Administration’s intention to change policy created a sense of betrayal for many transgender service members who revealed their identities and sought care under the open service policy in 2016. After July 1, 2016, the Department of Defense (DoD) diagnosed 1525 service members with gender dysphoria, the distress a person feels due to a mismatch between their gender identity and the sex they were assigned at birth. On April 12, 2019, the restrictive policy proposed by Secretary of Defense James Mattis went into effect.

Implementation of the new policy created two separate categories of transgender troops within the military. One category includes those who may serve openly, having been “grandfathered in” because they “came out” under the open service policy of 2016 and are still able to receive gender-affirming medical care. Another category includes those who would likely face discharge if they were to seek transition-related medical care beyond counseling.

As pending litigation attests, the situation raises novel issues regarding the constitutional rights of transgender service members currently serving and those who wish to serve in the future. This article provides background on military service by transgender people in the United States, highlighting findings from the brief period of open transgender service between mid-2016 and early 2019. The article next addresses the realities of transgender service, compared with arguments for restricting transgender service. It further considers open service policy implementation, focusing on the Air Force’s open service policy. Finally, the article examines pending litigation challenging the Trump Administration’s policy designed to prohibit transgender individuals from serving openly in the United States military.