Defense Secretary removes all women from Navy admiral promotion list
Hegseth removed all women from Navy admiral promotions and fired three female flag officers.
Event / Politics
US Military Leadership Gender Controversy
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed nine officers, including all three women, from a Navy promotion list to admiral rank, and fired three female three-star admirals without explanation, prompting concerns about politicization of military advancement and gender discrimination in the armed forces.
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2026-08-16 to 2026-11-13 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 7 Jun, 02:06 UTC
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What happened
Defense Secretary Hegseth removes nine officers from Navy promotion list including all three women nominees
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intervened to remove nine officers from a Navy promotion list of 31 captain-rank officers selected for promotion to one-star admiral. The removed officers included three women and two Black men. The Navy had approved the original list through its standard promotion board process, which was then approved by Navy Secretary John Phelan, other Navy leaders, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine before reaching Hegseth.
No women advanced to one-star admiral rank in Navy in 2026 due to promotion list cuts
As a result of the nine removals from the promotion list, the Navy is not promoting a single woman to the one-star admiral rank for 2026. This occurs despite women comprising approximately one-quarter of all Navy officers and nearly one-third of the service's midgrade ranks according to 2024 military data.
Hegseth states women in military receive preferential treatment and are unsuited for combat
In September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told military leaders that the Pentagon has promoted too many uniformed leaders for wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas, and historic firsts, asserting that this approach made the Pentagon less capable and less lethal. Hegseth has argued without evidence that women in the military benefit from preferential treatment and are not suited for combat roles.
Hegseth fires two additional female three-star admirals without explanation
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired two other female three-star admirals without providing any explanation for the terminations.
Hegseth fires Admiral Lisa Franchetti, first female Navy command officer
Shortly after taking office, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who was the Navy's top officer and the first woman to hold the position. He provided no explanation for the termination.
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