A memo issued on Monday stated that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has previously voiced his disapproval of women serving in combat, has directed the military to create gender-neutral physical fitness requirements for frontline soldiers.
“I am directing the Secretaries of the Military Departments to develop comprehensive plans to distinguish combat arms occupations from non-combat arms occupations,” Hegseth wrote in the memo, which is dated March 30.
The memo states that no existing standards will be lowered and that “all entry-level and sustained physical fitness requirements within combat arms positions must be sex-neutral, based solely on the operational demands of the occupation and the readiness needed to confront any adversary.”
Modifications to physical fitness requirements may have the effect of reducing both the number of new recruits and the retention of current military personnel.
But having gender-neutral requirements for combat troops — who face physically demanding tasks in the field, such as marching long distances and carrying heavy weapons and packs that are the same regardless of gender — would ensure they all meet the same minimum standards.
Before being nominated as defence secretary, Hegseth stated on an edition of the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast that he was against women serving in combat positions but not in the military in general.
Earlier this year, however, he attempted to distance himself from similar statements during his Senate confirmation process by telling senators that “women will have access to ground combat roles… given the standards remain high.”
Hegseth is a frequent critic of so-called “woke” policies — by companies, at universities, and in the military — that attempt to increase opportunities for ethnic and sexual minorities and has launched a campaign against such policies as Pentagon chief.
