BURSTDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a 60-day review of physical standards for military combat roles to ensure female troops are not being given exceptions for the physically challenging jobs, according to a new memo.
Hegseth, who in the past suggested physical standards for combat jobs have been lowered to meet diversity quotas — a claim that past defense officials have disputed — in a social media post said the review would help ensure equal standards for all service members.
“For far too long, we allowed standards to slip and different standards for men and women in combat arms . . .. That’s not acceptable,” he said in a video posted to X Monday.
In another post later on Monday, Hegseth said all combat roles will remain open to women but “they must all meet the same, high standard.”
Past military leaders have testified that the military has not lowered standards for women to gain entry into combat positions, but conservatives have insisted that women have been given lower physical fitness requirements compared to their male counterparts.
Hegseth earlier this month directed a review of military standards related to physical fitness and appearance across all services, and why those standards have changed since Jan. 1, 2015 — the year the military announced it would open all jobs to women including combat roles.
In his latest memo, signed Sunday and released Monday, he directs the service secretaries “to develop comprehensive plans to distinguish combat arms occupations from non-combat arms occupations,” an effort to “ensure that our standards are clear, mission-focused, and reflective of the unique physical demands” placed on service members in various jobs.
“The strength of our military is rooted in its high standards — they are the foundation of our military’s power projection,” Hegseth writes. “To ensure the U.S. military remains the strongest and most lethal fighting force on the planet, the Secretary of Defense directed the Military Departments to ensure their physical fitness standards support this enduring goal.”
The document lists three military specialties — ground combat operations, special operations forces and specialized occupations such as Navy divers or explosive ordnance disposal technicians — “which require heightened entry-level and sustained physical fitness.”
Ground combat operations standards must “emphasize the ability to carry heavy loads, endure prolonged physical exertion, and perform effectively in austere, hostile environments,” according to the memo.
Special operations forces standards, meanwhile, should incorporate “advanced swimming, climbing, parachuting, and the ability to operate in extreme environments.”
And for specialized operations, the standards must focus on “proficiency in those unique and demanding tasks such as aquatic rescue, repair, and demolition,” with sustained endurance needed to “tackle long hours in physically and mentally taxing conditions.”
Hegseth emphasizes that all entry-level and sustained physical fitness requirements within combat arms jobs “must be sex-neutral,” and that the service secretaries “may not establish standards that would result in any existing Service member being held to a lower standard.”
The memo did not say whether the findings, due in May and to be implemented in the next six months, could force from their current roles any of the thousands of women who currently serve in infantry, armor, artillery or specialized operations jobs.
Women make up about 18 percent of the active-duty force, roughly 1 in 5 service members, and although they must meet different fitness standards for general occupations compared to male troops, they already must pass gender-neutral standards for combat jobs.
But Hegseth, who as recently as November has said the military “should not have women in combat roles,” in his January confirmation hearing alleged that physical fitness standards had been rolled back to reach “quotas” for women in infantry jobs.
At the time, Democrat senators pushed back against the assertion.