Pete Hegseth has fired Navy Commander Janelle Marra, who had been serving as “Deputy Medical Director for Transgender Healthcare” at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.
In announcing the move on Twitter, Secretary Hegseth’s communication was short and blunt, writing:
“Pronouns UPDATED: She/Her/Fired”
If you’re surprised that the United States military even had such a position, especially nearly nine months into the new Trump administration, you wouldn’t be alone.
“My passion for compassionate healthcare is reflected in my focus on women’s and LGBT + health ensuring inclusive and holistic care for all service members,” posted Commander Marra.
Big problem.
Back on January 27, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14183. It was titled, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and made clear that the Armed Forces is no place for radical social experimentation:
“The United States military has a clear mission: to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force. Success in this existential mission requires a singular focus on developing the requisite warrior ethos, and the pursuit of military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.”
“Recently, however, the Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion. Longstanding Department of Defense (DoD) policy (DoD Instruction (DoDI) 6130.03) provides that it is the policy of the DoD to ensure that service members are “[f]ree of medical conditions or physical defects that may reasonably be expected to require excessive time lost from duty for necessary treatment or hospitalization.” As a result, many mental and physical health conditions are incompatible with active duty, from conditions that require substantial medication or medical treatment to bipolar and related disorders, eating disorders, suicidality, and prior psychiatric hospitalization.”
Not surprisingly, lawsuits quickly followed and lower court judges immediately pounced, initially halting the move. But by a 6-3 vote in May, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order allowing the federal government to enforce the ban.
In issuing his ban on “trans” troops, President Trump was right.
“Consistent with the military mission and longstanding DoD policy, expressing a false ‘gender identity’ divergent from an individual’s sex cannot satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service.”
Back in May, Secretary Hegseth posted, “We are leaving WOKENESS and WEAKNESS behind. No more pronouns, no more climate change obsessions, no more emergency vaccine mandates, no more DUDES IN DRESSES.”
And now, no more “Deputy Medical Director for Transgender Healthcare.”
