In a motion filed by the lawyers at the ACLU, the soldiers ask a federal court to suspend Trump’s ban immediately — even though it hasn’t fully taken effect.

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In Fort Polk, Louisiana, a 27-year-old Army sergeant had a doctor’s appointment to prepare for her gender-transition surgery, until the Department of Defense abruptly canceled it on Sept. 8.

At an air base in New York, a technical sergeant who's served more than 30 years in active duty and reserves suddenly fears she will be discharged and lose the income that supports her three kids. Meanwhile, a 25-year-old senior airman in the Air Force, stationed stateside after a deployment to Qatar, was scheduled for a hysterectomy in August until medical command put the procedure on hold indefinitely. These transgender soldiers — and more like them — share their stories as part of a motion filed in US District Court on Thursday, which says President Trump's recent policy to ban transgender military service is already derailing careers, even though military leaders won’t officially enact the policy for several months. Some media reports had claimed Defense Secretary James Mattis essentially froze Trump's new rule in late August, which created a misconception that the Pentagon eclipsed the president's authority. In fact, Trump's memo ordered the ban to take hold on March 23, 2018; the Pentagon has until then to make rules for implementing it — and the policy is on track. But numerous transgender soldiers, represented by lawyers at the ACLU, are asking a federal judge in Maryland to suspend the rule immediately, arguing it’s causing harm now. “I have feared for my career...I have never considered another career,” says a declaration by Kate Cole, the 27-year-old sergeant, who enlisted at the age of 17 and says she came out as transgender in good faith that she could could remain in the ranks.

"All gender transition-related surgeries, including my own, had been put on hold."

Trump’s policy threatens her health care and her German wife's immigration status, Cole says, adding, “I had no clue that my career would be in jeopardy a year later, because I had trusted the government when I ‘came out’ as transgender.”

“I have also been denied approval of medically-indicated surgical treatment, including gender confirmation surgery,” Cole says. “On September 8, 2017, my scheduled Department of Defense medical consultation for an orchiectomy was canceled. I was told by DoD medical personnel that there is no transition-related surgery at this time, and it is not certain if, and when, such surgery will be allowed.” Trump had announced the ban in a series of tweets in July, followed by a memo last month that said the Obama administration "failed to identify a sufficient basis" to lift a previous ban on transgender troops. That White House memo said Obama’s officials hadn't proved transgender service members "would not hinder military effectiveness and lethality, disrupt unit cohesion, or tax military resources.” The plaintiffs filed their suit in August, arguing Trump’s ban violated their Fifth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection. But their motion for a preliminary injunction on Thursday offers their first testaments to the ban’s impact so far. One of the plaintiffs, the 25-year-old senior airman in the Air Force who is identified as Doe, was scheduled for a hysterectomy last month, when Trump's policy was rolled out. "I received an email from the medical command at the base where I was scheduled to undergo surgery informing me that all gender transition-related surgeries, including my own, had been put on hold pending further DoD guidance," the senior airman's declarations says. "As a result," he continues, "I cannot prepare for the future at all. I do not know what kind of medical care I will be able to get while in the military, if any." Tommie Parkera, the 54-year-old technical sergeant in the Air National Guard, says she has been preparing for retirement as her kids approach college.

"We have three children, so my whole family relies on my military income."