A new report revealed that military members are quietly defying orders from President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Democrats came under fire when former military and intelligence members who are in elected office filmed a video saying that no one in the military must follow an unlawful order. The video reminded anyone in the military that the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) says all military members have a legal right and obligation to refuse unlawful orders.
Trump called it an act of "sedition" and demanded that the members of the legislature be "put on trial." Nov. 20 marks the one-year anniversary of Trump's demand. It hasn't happened. The Defense Department tried to demote Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) so he wouldn't get as much money in his pension.
Now it appears that others have similarly decided to defy orders behind closed doors.
"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," said the New York Times on Friday.
But a unique thing is happening: those soldiers on the boards are voting to keep transgender members in the military. The same is happening in the Navy as well.
The report said it isn't happening on occasion; nine of the 12 people brought before the boards have been approved to stay. All of the proceedings are being kept secret and even spouses are prohibited from attending the hearings. The Pentagon won't say how many there have been total or how many people have been removed.
The same move is not happening in the U.S. Air Force, however, where trans military personnel are being discharged quickly. But the Times calls it a "stunning rebuke" of Trumpism by at least some military branches.
“These boards are being told to do something that they know is wrong — to rubber-stamp a non-choice given to them by the administration,” said former Air Force lawyer Rachel VanLandingham, who now teaches at Southwestern Law School. “We are seeing them say they’re not going to play that game. We are seeing them nullify a process they see as unjust.”
"The Trump administration claims that trans troops, who account for about 4,250 people or about 0.1 percent of the military, are a costly burden on military effectiveness," the report said. But it cited a military finding that contradicts that assessment.
“For the sake of our Nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty,” the order demands.
The result was significant, the report said.
"Hundreds of highly qualified people left, including doctors, lawyers, pilots and nuclear technicians. The troops who stayed to challenge their dismissal waited in limbo, sometimes for more than a year," the Times said.
The report went on to walk through one Marine Staff Sargent who faced the court in August. He thought that his career was over, but the panel approved him. His lawyer was shocked. She'd seen nothing but losses and dismissals at the beginning of these board meetings, but then something shifted, and she has no idea why. The Navy and Marines refuse to cooperate. Then, recently, she won a case with someone for the Army.
For some who have already been dismissed, however, the experience was very different. After 18 years, one woman had a character witness testifying on her behalf when the panel cut them off and said, "We get it, your service is commendable, that’s not what we’re here to decide."
