Transgender recruits will be allowed to enlist in the US military beginning January 1, the Pentagon says, as President Donald Trump's ordered ban suffers more legal setbacks.
The new policy reflects the difficult hurdles the federal government would have to cross to enforce Trump's demand earlier this year to bar transgender individuals from the military.
Three federal courts have ruled against the ban.
Major David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, said the enlistment of transgender recruits will begin next month and proceed amid legal battles. The defence department also is doing a review, which is expected to carry into 2018.
Transgender individuals receiving hormone therapy must be stable on their medication for 18 months.
The requirements make it challenging for a transgender recruit to pass. But they mirror concerns President Barack Obama's administration laid out when the Pentagon initially lifted its ban on transgender service last year.
The Pentagon move signals the growing sense within the government that authorities are likely to lose the legal fight.
