Transgender sailors and Marines can voluntarily leave the service by March 28. Otherwise, they risk being kicked out of the service, reducing their eligibility for benefits by half, according to a Department of the Navy memo released on Thursday.
The policy is consistent with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January prohibiting transgender people from serving in the military, as well as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s subsequent orders in February directing each service branch to begin separating transgender troops within 30 days.
In the memo, Acting Secretary of the Navy Terence Emmert stated that the Department of the Navy recognizes male and female as the only two sexes, and that “an individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life.”
As a result, Emmert announced that those who have a history of or “exhibit symptoms consistent with” gender dysphoria may no longer serve in the military and may voluntarily leave by March 28. Following that date, the Navy will involuntarily discharge sailors and Marines from their respective services.
“A history of cross-sex hormone therapy or sex reassignment or genital reconstruction surgery as treatment for gender dysphoria or in pursuit of a sex transition is disqualifying for applicants for military service, and incompatible with military service for military personnel,” according to the memo.
Nonetheless, the Navy stated that it will not review medical records or health assessments to identify transgender service members unless specifically requested to do so.
Transgender service members who do not accept the Navy’s offer to voluntarily separate are not eligible for the same benefits after separation. According to the Navy’s memo, those who voluntarily leave the service will receive double the separation pay as those who are involuntarily removed.
For example, the Pentagon announced on Feb. 28 that an E-5, a petty officer first class in the Navy with ten years of experience, would receive a total of $101,628 in voluntary separation pay, but only $50,814 if that service member chose involuntary separation pay.
Those with less than six years or more than twenty years of service are ineligible for voluntary separation pay.
“The Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) will maximize the use of all available command authorities to ensure impacted personnel are afforded dignity and respect,” according to the Navy’s memo.
Certain exceptions to the rule may apply. According to the memo, the Secretary of the Navy may issue waivers to those who wish to remain or join the
service on a “case-by-case basis,” if there is evidence that retaining or recruiting such individuals “directly supports warfighting capabilities.”
When asked for comment, the Navy referred Fox News Digital to its press release on the order and declined to say how many sailors this order would likely affect.
The Navy issued its guidance on the same day that a federal judge heard arguments in a lawsuit filed in February by LGBTQ legal rights advocacy groups GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights against the Trump administration, seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the ban while the case is pending.
U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes is expected to rule on the preliminary injunction by March 25. GLAD Law did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In February, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal filed a separate lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s order on behalf of six transgender service members, requesting that a federal judge block the order during the legal proceedings.
“A dishonorable action from a dishonorable administration,” the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and Lambda Legal said in a joint statement on February 27.
“This attack on those who have dedicated their lives to serving our country is not only morally wrong, but fundamentally un-American. Forcing out thousands of transgender service members who have met all of the requirements to serve does not improve military performance or make our country safer.”
The Human Rights Campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Navy officials have previously defended LGBTQ service members. For example, former Chief of Naval Operations Adm.
Mike Gilday defended a nonbinary Navy officer assigned to the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford who was featured in a video shared on Instagram by the Navy Judge Advocate General Corps about his participation in an LGBTQ spoken-word night while on deployment.
Republican lawmakers criticized the video, questioning the Navy’s warfighting priorities. For example, then-Sen. Marco Rubio posted the video on X in April 2023, saying, “While China prepares for war, this is what they have our @USNavy focused on.”
However, Gilday, who retired in August 2023, told Republican lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2023 that he was proud of the officer and that people of all backgrounds serve in the Navy.
As a result, Gilday believes it is the responsibility of Navy leaders to “build a cohesive warfighting team that is going to follow the law, and the law requires that we be able to conduct prompt, sustained operations at sea.”
“That level of trust that a commanding officer develops across that unit has to be grounded on dignity and respect,” Gilday stated on April 20, 2023. “And so, if that officer can lawfully join the United States Navy, is willing to serve and willing to take the same oath that you and I took to put their life on the line, then I’m proud to serve beside them.”
