MARCH 1, 2025 – Service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria will soon be processed for separation by their respective services, according to a new policy memorandum from the Defense Department’s Office of Personnel and Readiness.
In a Feb. 26, 2025 policy memorandum titled “Additional Guidance on Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” the department detailed, among other things, how affected service members will be separated from the military, the use of pronouns, using sex for determining both adherence to standards as well as use of shared military facilities, and cessation of department funding for medical care related to gender dysphoria.
“It is the policy of the United States government to establish high standards for service member readiness, lethality, cohesion, honesty, humility, uniformity, and integrity,” the policy memorandum reads. “This policy is inconsistent with the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals with gender dysphoria or who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria.”
Service members affected by the policy may apply for and be considered for a waiver on a case-by-case basis if there is a compelling government interest in retaining the service member who directly supports warfighting. If they don’t obtain a waiver, service members with gender dysphoria are disqualified from military service and must be processed for separation.
Those service members may elect to separate from service voluntarily and will be eligible for voluntary separation pay if they choose that route. Those same service members will also not have to repay any bonuses received, even if they have a remaining service obligation.
Service members who choose to be separated involuntarily will be eligible for involuntary separation pay, which is less than voluntary separation pay. Those service members may be required to pay back any bonuses they received.
As an example, an E-5 service member with 10 years of service would collect $101,628 in voluntary separation pay, while that same service member would collect $50,814 in involuntary separation pay.
Additionally, impacted service members with more than 18 years of service but less than 20 years of service are eligible for early retirement.
All service members affected by the policy will be separated with an honorable characterization of service, except where their record otherwise warrants a lower characterization. Additionally, service secretaries will waive remaining military service obligations for those separated under this policy.
The policy directs the identification of affected service members within 30 days. Once identified, separation procedures will begin within 30 days.
In an executive order in January, President Donald J. Trump made it the policy of the federal government to recognize only two sexes, male and female. That memorandum said that within the federal government, “sex” will refer to an individual’s “immutable biological classification as either male or female.”
In addition to guidance related to the separation of service members with gender dysphoria, the latest guidance also includes direction on terms of address related to sex, the use of sex as a factor in adherence to standards and use of facilities, and departmental funding of medical procedures related to gender dysphoria.
Going forward, the policy memorandum says, Defense Department funding will no longer be used to pay for medical procedures associated with facilitating sex reassignment surgery, genital reconstruction surgery as a treatment for gender dysphoria or newly initiated cross-sex hormone therapy.
Within the department and military services, service members will use terms of address for one another that reflect their sex, including common customs and courtesies among service members.
“In keeping with good order and discipline, salutations (e.g., addressing a senior officer as “Sir” or “Ma’am”) must also reflect an individual’s sex,” the policy memorandum states.
When it comes to fitness standards, grooming standards, or use of facilities, for instance, the new guidance also requires that sex will be the only determining factor.
“Where a standard, requirement, or policy depends on whether the individual is a male or female (e.g., medical fitness for duty, physical fitness and body fat standards; berthing, bathroom, and shower facilities; and uniform and grooming standards), all persons will be subject to the standard, requirement, or policy associated with their sex,” the policy memorandum reads.
In addition to affecting existing service members, the policy memorandum also states applicants for military service and individuals in the delayed entry program who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria are also disqualified for military service.
DOD News