Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an address Tuesday to the military’s top leaders waded back into a topic that nearly derailed his confirmation early this year and helped elevate his voice as a Fox News commentator — the fitness of women to serve in combat.
Hegseth told hundreds of military commanders at a hastily called gathering in Virginia that there would be new directives to ensure that the requirement for every position in combat “returns to the highest male standard.”
He said that “if that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” while stressing that the military will continue to welcome women into its ranks.
“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,” he said. “This job is life and death. Standards must be met.”
The remarks rekindled criticism of the defense secretary that arose after President Donald Trump nominated him to the post last year and renewed concerns about his approach to women in leadership and front-line roles. Hegseth’s house-cleaning at the top ranks of the military has included a disproportionate number of women, including an admiral and vice admiral in the Navy and the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Several prominent women who are combat veterans pushed back on Hegseth’s remarks to emphasize that women who serve in combat roles already are subjected to the same standards as men. Those standards apply to specific combat special operations, infantry, armor, pararescue and other jobs regardless of age or gender.
Female veterans call out Hegseth
Elisa Cardnell, president of the Service Women’s Action Network, said the standards have not been lowered for women serving in combat roles. She said the requirements for serving in the infantry, for example, are the same for men and women, whether it’s carrying a certain amount of equipment or marching a certain distance.
Capt. Lory Manning, who served for more than 25 years in the Navy and at times commanded units of over 400 people, said skepticism about women’s capabilities is nothing new. During her time in the Navy, the military expanded opportunities for women to serve in air, sea and some ground combat.
“Women have had to prove they were capable before positions became officially open,” said Manning, whose responsibilities at one point also included oversight and evaluation of the Navy’s physical fitness standards.
Manning said “there would have been some sort of uproar” if women consistently failed to perform or compromised military standards throughout that time. She said the secretary seemed to conflate physical requirements with requirements for specific military roles.
“He hasn’t changed anything basic with regards to women,” she said of Hegseth. “He’s just got it in his head that women are somehow cheating.”
Amy McGrath, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who was the first woman to fly an F-18 fighter jet in combat and lost a Democratic challenge to Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2020, said Hegseth continues to lie about women in the military.
“He claimed the military needs to ‘return to the male standard’ in combat jobs (of 1990!), but here’s the truth: there has never been a separate male and female standard,” she posted on X. “When women entered combat roles, one standard was set, and we’ve been meeting it ever since.”
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for New Jersey governor who served as a Navy helicopter pilot, said Tuesday that what she had heard about the speech “comports with everything I’ve seen from the most incompetent secretary of defense we’ve ever had.”
She questioned the decision to call generals and admirals from around the world for what she said amounts to a meeting “just to kind of show his tough guy creds.”
Many Republican women show support
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican and Iraq War combat veteran who grilled Hegseth during his nomination hearing in January before providing a crucial confirmation vote, said his comments Tuesday were “appropriate.”
“I’m not worried about that,” she said. “So there should be the same set of standards for combat arms. I think that’s what he probably was referring to, combat arms.”
Ernst noted, however, that women who go through Ranger School or into the infantry are already subjected to the same standards as men.
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, said she likes Hegseth’s approach, specifically his promises to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the military.
“President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are right: the U.S. military isn’t a playground for Left-Wing gender bending ideology. Our military is a fighting force that must return to mission-first readiness,” the Republican told AP in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Sheri Biggs of South Carolina, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, said she also supported Hegseth’s efforts to change military culture.
Hegseth focused much of his address on eliminating what he has called “woke” policies from the military, saying too many leaders have been promoted based on race, gender quotas and “historic firsts” rather than qualifications. Any leader who disagrees with his approach should resign, he said.
“Returning to standards that prioritize excellence and accountability puts America’s security and our servicemembers where they belong — first,” Biggs said in a statement.
___ Associated Press writers Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, Meg Kinnard in Houston, and Joey Cappelletti, Stephen Groves and Ben Finley in Washington contributed to this report.
