Hegseth Barred Trans Soldiers But Military Boards Are Rejecting Those Orders
A board voted to retain Marine Staff Sgt. Damien Contreras, noting his 10 years of good service.Credit...Marie Eriel Hobro for The New York Times The service members at Navy and Marine Corps hearings are finding ways to keep trans troops in uniform . By Dave Philipps Covering the military New York Times Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a slur to proudly announce to an auditorium of Marines in September that he was ridding the military of all transgender troops. The Pentagon had set up review boards at bases around the globe, manned by everyday uniformed service members with narrow orders that all but ensured that the trans troops appearing before them would be voted out. But just steps from the auditorium where Mr. Hegseth spoke, at Marine Corps Base Quantico, boards assigned to carry out those orders were doing the opposite. Instead of firing trans Marines, the boards were voting to keep them. The same was happening in the Navy: Boards given strict ...
