The Navy is offering transgender sailors and U.S. Marines voluntary honorable discharges in order to comply with new restrictions on gender identity, according to a memo released on Thursday.
The memo, issued by Acting Navy Secretary Terence Emmert, gives those impacted until Mar. 28 to voluntarily accept the offer or face “involuntary separation.” The memo’s provisions cover Navy sailors, U.S. Marines, U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Reserve Officers Training Crops (NROTC) midshipmen.
“The Department of the Navy (DON) recognizes two sexes: male and female. An individual’s sex is immutable, unchanging during a person’s life,” the memo reads. “Individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are no longer eligible for military service.”
The directive is the latest move to bring the armed forces in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order effectively banning transgender members from serving, with few exceptions in special circumstances.
“The chief of naval operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps will maximize the use of all available command authorities to ensure impacted personnel are afforded dignity and respect,” the memo reads.
To be eligible for an accession waiver, or an attainment waiver, a service member must demonstrate they never attempted to change their sex. They also must be able to show “36 consecutive months of stability” with their biological sex and be able to adhere to “all applicable standards” which include the new regulations on transgenderism.
Estimates on the number of transgender service members vary, but a DOD report published in September 2022 estimated that 1.7% of active service members in 2021 were “gender minorities,” including 0.4% who identified as transgender.
The Army complied with Trump’s order Feb. 14 refusing transgender applicants and no longer supporting sex-changes. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a Feb. 7 memo that transgender individuals could not “satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for Military Service.”
Former President Joe Biden lifted Trump’s first ban on transgender service members in 2021. Over his four years in office, LGBT and transgender initiatives saw considerable growth in the armed services.
The Navy did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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