Link: https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/navy-marine-corps-largely-ignoring-194531848.html

While the Trump administration has tried to rid the Armed Forces of transgender troops, certain branches of the military have been ignoring the ban.

During his first week in office for his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring service members who identify as trans from the U.S. military.

"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," read the order, which claimed 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."

Since then, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly touted Trump's order marginalizing trans service members in speeches, sometimes using transphobic slurs in the process. However, according to a Friday, October 23 report from The New York Times, several branches of the military have not been complying with the messaging from above.

The publication spoke with a number of service members and lawyers who have been through review board hearings after challenging their dismissals. Per the outlet's findings, the three-person boards for both the Navy and Marine Corps have overwhelmingly voted to retain trans members, while the boards in the Army and Air Force have done the opposite.

According to the Times, boards are required to dismiss anyone who exhibits transgender feelings or tendencies, regardless of formal transition status. While those interviewed by the outlet said the Army boards have ignored their history of service — as they've reportedly been instructed to do — that wasn't the case with other branches.

Marine Staff Sgt. Damien Contreras was one of the service members who spoke on record with the publication, claiming the board reviewed his decade of service and allegedly crossed out instructions regarding his "history of cross sex hormone therapy" and instead circled "remains qualified," before voting to keep him.

"I was shocked at first, but when you come down to it, it makes sense," Sergeant Contreras said from his station in Hawaii. "You have war fighters looking at war fighters. They see I've always done my job, I've deployed, I've mentored other Marines, followed the rules. They say, 'Hey, this is a good Marine, why wouldn't we retain him?'"

The Defense Department, as well as the military branches, all declined to discuss the board decisions with the outlet.