Navy, Marine Boards Vote to Keep Transgender Troops Despite Hegseth Ban

Navy and Marine Corps review boards set up to discharge transgender service members under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ban have instead voted to keep them in most cases.

The boards voted to retain transgender members in nine of 12 cases, according to a New York Times report by Dave Philipps. The Pentagon keeps the proceedings secret, and the Times compiled the figures from service members and lawyers.

In the Navy, which began hearings in July, nine boards produced seven votes to retain. In the Marine Corps, which started in August, three boards produced two votes to keep the member.

In the third Marine case, the board voted to discharge but wrote that its members unanimously believed the Marine should “be retained based on his commendable service record and unique skills.”

The pattern does not extend to the other branches. The Army has held about 50 hearings and voted to discharge in all but about five, while the Air Force has discharged in roughly six known cases.

Recommendations, Not Final Word

The decisions are only recommendations. Politically appointed service secretaries can reverse them, and pending legal challenges could pause or end the ban. The services and the Defense Department declined to comment, citing litigation.

The three-member boards are drawn from rank-and-file officers and enlisted personnel. Under the rules, any evidence of being transgender requires dismissal, and members may not weigh performance, critical skills or combat records.

Members receive a one-page findings sheet and are instructed to circle wording that the service member is not qualified to serve, the Times reported.

Marine Staff Sgt. Damien Contreras, a supply and logistics specialist with three overseas deployments, was flown from Hawaii to Quantico in August. His board crossed out language on the sheet and circled “remains qualified.”

“You have war fighters looking at war fighters,” Contreras told the Times. “They see I’ve always done my job, I’ve deployed, I’ve mentored other Marines, followed the rules.”

His lawyer, Priya Rashid, said she cannot explain the shift. “I’m worried that if the pattern becomes too apparent, the government will just change the processes and procedures again so that the pattern can be extinguished,” she said.

Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force lawyer who teaches at Southwestern Law School, said the boards are refusing “to rubber-stamp a nonchoice given to them by the administration.”

The administration argues transgender troops, about 4,250 people or roughly 0.1% of the force, burden military effectiveness. Trump’s January 2025 executive order said service “must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty.”

The report drew fire on the right. The Daily Caller News Foundation framed the votes as military leaders disobeying Hegseth’s ban, and Philipps discussed his findings on CNN, Mediaite reported.

The Pentagon earlier offered transgender troops payments to leave voluntarily, and hundreds did. Those who stayed to contest dismissal have waited in limbo, some for more than a year.

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