Petty Officer First Class Rylie LeValley, U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve

Rylie LeValley’s career in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve is a testament to perseverance, leadership, and commitment to service. Since enlisting in 2010, she has mastered electronics repair, held leadership positions, and championed inclusivity within her unit—long before she publicly came out as transgender.

Rylie’s journey has been one of breaking molds and overcoming obstacles. She has navigated bias, policy delays, and systemic roadblocks, all while ensuring that every sailor under her leadership felt supported. When her transition paperwork stalled for months, she persisted against bureaucratic resistance, ultimately securing her gender marker change and setting an example for others.
Despite early career challenges, including being denied a frocking ceremony due to leadership biases, Rylie rose to the rank of Petty Officer First Class, proving her technical expertise and commitment to her sailors. Today, she is focused on the future—working towards Chief selection to continue mentoring and advocating for others.
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Rylie’s service challenges misconceptions about transgender military members. “Having transgender service members allows the Navy to prove that a society that does not accept transgender people is doing a disservice to their community,” she said. “The Navy has proven to me that no matter your race, religion, sex, or gender identity, we are the world’s greatest Navy through embracing our differences.”

You can read more of Rylie's story in 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦!

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