Transgender people and military service

Not all armed forces have policies explicitly permitting LGBT personnel. Generally speaking, Western European militaries show a greater tendency toward inclusion of LGBT individuals.

On 18 July 1980, Sweden became the first country to permit legally recognized transgender individuals—those who had completed transition and obtained legal gender status under the 1972 gender-recognition law—to be medically classified as fit for duty and serve openly in their affirmed gender within the armed forces.

As of 2025, eight North Atlantic Treaty Organization members — Italy, Albania, Poland, Turkey, Hungary (ban effective 29 May 2020), Bulgaria (ban effective 20 February 2023), the United States (ban effective 8 May 2025), and Slovakia (ban effective 1 November 2025) — have prohibited transgender people from serving in their armed forces.

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