Transgender sailors and Marines who want to voluntarily separate before the military kicks them out have until March 28 to do so, according to a Navy policy issued Thursday evening.
The policy, which was released to the fleet as a NAVADMIN after being filed in court by administration officials defending the ban against a lawsuit, is consistent with the Defense Department-wide policy announced last month, which stated that service members who choose to separate would be eligible for twice as much separation pay as they would receive if they were later kicked out.
“An individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life,” according to Navy policy. “After 28 March 2025, the [Department of the Navy] will initiate involuntary administrative separation for these personnel and others who are disqualified for military service.”
Since the Pentagon announced its policy, each of the military departments has issued its own memo to detail how it will carry out the ban and offer of voluntary separation, though they have all been largely similar, including using the exact same language in some cases.
The Army policy, which was issued in court late last week, gives transgender soldiers until March 26 to decide whether to voluntarily separate. The deadline for voluntary separation under the Air Force policy, which was filed in court earlier this month, is also March 26.
Even as the services implement their policies, a federal court appears poised to prevent the transgender service ban from taking effect.
At least two lawsuits have been filed against it, and a federal judge in Washington, D.C., who is hearing arguments in one of them, appears to be skeptical of the Trump administration’s defenses. At a hearing Wednesday, the judge stated that she expects to rule by next week on whether to prevent the ban from taking effect while the lawsuit is pending.
The Pentagon is moving to prohibit transgender people from serving in the military in accordance with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, which stated that being transgender is “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member.”
Pentagon officials have not provided any details or examples to back up their claim.
The Pentagon’s policy to implement Trump’s order states that troops with a history of gender dysphoria, who “exhibit symptoms” of gender dysphoria, or who have transitioned to their gender identity are ineligible for service.
Gender dysphoria is a medical term that refers to the distress caused by someone’s gender identity not matching their assigned sex.
The policy also includes some exemptions, but advocates argue that the requirements for a waiver are impossible for any transgender service member to meet.
To qualify for a waiver, a transgender service member must be stable in their birth sex for 36 months, have never transitioned to their gender identity, and be willing to serve in their birth sex.
The military service must also demonstrate a “compelling government interest in retaining the service member,” which was later clarified to mean that the service member possesses some type of special skill or training.
The offer for sailors and Marines who self-identify as eligible for discharge, while driven by Pentagon policy, is generous and unique for the Department of the Navy, which includes the Marine Corps.
According to the policy announced Thursday, those who request voluntary separation by March 28 will receive double the normal involuntary separation pay.
Normally, involuntary separation pay is 10% of a service member’s annual base pay multiplied by the number of years served.
Some of the publicly serving transgender service members — both officers and enlistees — have been serving for more than a decade, so these payments could easily exceed $100,000 even before being doubled.
They will also have any remaining service obligation waived, and they will not be required to repay any bonuses related to their service obligation received prior to February 26.
Some of these bonuses can easily total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The policy also states that the discharge classification will be honorable “except where the member’s record otherwise warrants a different characterization,” and that those with more than 18 years of service but less than 20 years may be eligible for early retirement.
According to Navy policy, those who have served for less than six years or more than twenty years will be ineligible for voluntary separation pay.
Navy Cmdr. Emily Shilling, a decorated jet pilot with 60 combat missions, is one of the longest-serving openly transgender service members. She has spent 19 years and eight months in uniform.
The Navy’s new policy acknowledges that it is unclear how many sailors or Marines will be affected by the ban. The policy prohibits Navy personnel from identifying service members through medical records, periodic health assessments, ad hoc physical assessments, or any other diagnostic mechanism, unless directed by the Pentagon’s personnel and readiness office.
The Department of Defense does not keep track of the number of transgender troops. In January, Pentagon officials stated that they were aware of 4,240 service members across all services who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria;
however, it is possible that others have not received a formal diagnosis through the military or are seeking care or medication from civilian doctors, keeping their status hidden from commanders.
The Navy’s policy, like the Army’s, is less clear about what happens to those who do not volunteer to self-identify and separate by the deadline.
The memo states that they will be subject to involuntary separation, as well as losing the ability to collect pay and keep their bonuses, but it also notes that the “procedures for
Involuntary separation will be implemented through future guidance.”
When service members request voluntary separation, they will be placed on administrative leave until they are separated, according to policy.
