Opportunities Narrow for Women as Hegseth Blocks More Promotions For the first time in more than a decade, no active-dut

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/us/hegseth-blocks-navy-promotions.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xlA.Z5Na.WFwRsWI-mjNb&smid=url-share

Opportunities Narrow for Women as Hegseth Blocks More Promotions
For the first time in more than a decade, no active-duty female Navy officers are likely to be promoted to admiral this year.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers, five of whom are women or people of color, to two-star admiral rank, current and former defense officials said.

The highly unusual move means that for the first time in more than a decade, no female active-duty naval officers are likely to be promoted to admiral this year, officials said.

The initial list consisted of 22 officers who were chosen by a promotion board made up of senior admirals. The board determined that the two-star nominees were among the Navy’s highest performers over careers spanning more than 25 years.

Among those removed was Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, who was chosen in 2020 to be the first woman to command the crew of one of the Navy’s 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.