Read the other blog posts in our Service Beyond Gender series:
- U.S. Navy Lt. Rae Timberlake’s Mission of Authenticity and Dedication
- As He Prepares to Teach at West Point, Captain Gordon Herrero Reflects on His Leadership Journey
- Major Alivia Stehlik’s Mission of Care and Legacy of Compassion
- Clayton McCallister’s Pursuit of Purpose and Dream of Service
- The Fight to Serve and the Future of the Force
- Nathan Casey’s Journey of Music, Leadership, and Visibility in the Marine Corps
- Major Kara Corcoran’s Leadership Amid Renewed Challenges
By guest contributor Trish King
In ultra-running, there’s a moment known as entering the pain cave — the point where exhaustion takes over, and the mind begs the body to stop. The best runners push through, knowing that relentless forward progress is the only way to reach the finish line.
For Commander Blake Dremann, that philosophy isn’t just for the 50-mile races he signs up for — it’s how he’s built a nearly 20-year career in the U.S. Navy.
U.S. Navy Commander Blake Dremann
He has led sailors across the globe, shaped the future of logistics and readiness, and played a pivotal role in integrating women onto submarines. He has also, at multiple points in his career, had to fight for his right to serve in the military at all.
Dremann is no stranger to breaking barriers. Even as new policies threaten to place walls in front of him once again, he’s not slowing down. Because leadership isn’t about the obstacles — it’s about how you push through them.
Finding Purpose in the Navy
Dremann didn’t originally plan on a career in the Navy. His goal was to become a chaplain, but without the money to attend seminary, he joined the military to earn his GI Bill benefits. The Supply Corps picked him up, and he threw himself into the job — all while still taking online seminary classes during deployments, translating Biblical Hebrew from a ship off the coast of Japan.
Then, something changed.
“I realized I loved what I was doing,” Dremann recalls. “I loved leading sailors, solving problems, and making missions happen. I likely didn’t make a great chaplain,” he adds with a laugh. “But I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.”
That realization kept him in uniform. Nearly 20 years later, he has led everywhere from submarine tenders to Fleet Readiness Centers, and he has built a reputation as a problem-solver and a mentor who pushes his people to be their best.
The U.S. Navy’s Supply Corps, which Dremann has dedicated his career to, plays a critical role in sustaining global naval operations and overseeing logistics, acquisition, and financial management. Without it, the fleet would be unable to maintain its readiness and forward presence.
Leadership Under Pressure: Breaking Barriers Underwater
Dremann running an ultra-marathon
Dremann’s leadership took on new significance when he became the senior woman officer aboard his submarine — a role he never expected, especially since he was still internally figuring out his own identity as a transgender man at the time.
His job wasn’t just to lead; he had to mentor junior nuclear women officers and act as a shield if they faced challenges integrating into the traditionally all-male submarine community. Though under his watch, the transition wasn’t defined by gender, but by professionalism.
“The best compliment I got was that I showed them how to be good Naval officers, not just ‘women officers,’” Dremann says. “I never wanted them to feel like they were a separate category. We were just officers, doing the job, qualifying submarines — something less than one percent of the military does.”
One of those officers would go on to become the first woman Executive Officer of a submarine — a testament to the example he set.
The lesson Dremann took from that experience? Leadership isn’t about who you are. It’s about what you do.
“I’ve never claimed to have all the answers,” he explains. “But what I do know is that my job as a leader is to be the shield when needed and to push my people forward when it’s their time to lead.”
The integration of women into the submarine force, which began in 2010, was a significant milestone for the Navy. As of 2022, over 80 female officers and 90 female enlisted sailors served on submarines, a direct result of leadership like Dremann’s.
Fighting for Open Service
When Dremann and a small group of mid-level trans officers and enlisted personnel began advocating for open transgender service, the odds were stacked against them. They had no trans Colonels, no Navy Captains, no General Officers in their corner.
They weren’t supposed to win.
And yet, by showing up — walking the halls of the Pentagon, telling their stories, and refusing to be erased — they convinced the Department of Defense to change course.
Dremann remembers it clearly: “We weren’t just fighting for ourselves; we were carrying the voices of those who couldn’t speak out. We put ourselves in the line of fire so the E-3s and junior sailors wouldn’t have to.”
Their efforts led to the first repeal of the trans ban in 2016, proving that service was about performance, not identity.
Commander Blake Dremann
Despite progress, transgender military service remains a political battleground. Studies from organizations like the Palm Center have consistently found that inclusive service policies do not harm readiness, morale, or unit cohesion.
For service members impacted by shifting policies, organizations like SPARTA provide advocacy, peer support, and resources to help navigate these challenges.
A Familiar Battle: Another Ban, Another Challenge
Now, with new policies threatening open trans service, Dremann finds himself in familiar territory — wearing the uniform of a country that may once again try to push him out.
But his response is the same as it’s always been:“I put on my uniform and went to work.”
Dremann knows what it means to serve under uncertainty, and he plans to lead through the long haul.
“This isn’t my first ban,” he says. “This isn’t even my second. I’ve been banned more times than I’ve been on a submarine.”
Despite everything, he refuses to focus on the negative. “I still have sailors to lead,” he says. “I still have a job to do. They’re not going to shake my resolve.”
And if leadership in Washington questions whether trans service members belong, Dremann has a simple answer.
“If the Secretary of Defense wants to see what trans service looks like,” he says, “they can come out to Guam and watch me lead my sailors. Watch how they follow me not because I’m trans, but because of the leader I am.”
The Navy is strongest when it invests in its best people. If policies change, that doesn’t make Dremann any less of a leader — it just proves the system is failing to recognize its best talent.
About the author: Trish King is a retired U.S. Army infantry NCO and the first openly transgender service member in her field. She writes about military life, family, and LGBTQ+ rights, drawing from her decades of service and personal experience.
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