WASHINGTON

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Department of Defense to start removing transgender troops from the military in a memo issued Thursday.

"Approximately 1,000 service members who have self-identified as being diagnosed with gender dysphoria will begin the voluntary separation process," Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

The department will extend the voluntary separation period for 30 days for Active Component Service members and 60 days for Reserve Component Service members and proceed with processing for involuntary separations after those periods, Parnell added.

According to the memo, the eligibility window to self-identify for voluntary separation is extended to June 6.

The memo came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the Trump administration to enforce a Department of Defense policy prohibiting transgender people from serving in the military.

"TRANS is out at the DOD," Hegseth said on X.