The US Department of Defense has initiated a significant six-month review into the performance and effectiveness of women serving in ground combat roles. This move comes a full decade after all restrictions on women in such positions were officially lifted.
Hegseth's Directive and the Review's Scope
Driving the review is Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, a known critic of what he terms "woke" ideology within the armed forces. He has stated the assessment aims to restore and maintain the "highest male standards" for combat positions. The formal request for data was issued in a memo from Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel, Anthony Tata.
Army and Marine leaders have been tasked with providing comprehensive data covering several critical areas. These include unit readiness, individual and collective training outcomes, job performance metrics, and the overall command climate within units that include women in combat roles.
Official Rationale vs. Critical Backlash
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson sought to frame the review as a neutral exercise in military efficacy. He emphasised the primary goal is to ensure the United States maintains "the most lethal" fighting force possible and to uphold strictly "sex neutral" standards, insisting the process will not compromise for the sake of diversity quotas.
However, the announcement has been met with sharp criticism from advocates for gender integration in the military. Retired Army Colonel Ellen Haring characterised the review as a thinly-veiled effort to exclude women from ground combat roles. She argues the Pentagon is seeking to solve a "problem that doesn’t exist," pointing to the successful decade of service since full integration.
Broader Context and Implications
This review is seen as part of Defence Secretary Hegseth's wider crackdown on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the Pentagon. The six-month timeline suggests findings and potential policy recommendations could be presented by mid-2026. The outcome is poised to have substantial implications for the career trajectories of servicewomen and the operational composition of the US Army and Marine Corps infantry and special operations forces.
The debate centres on a fundamental clash of perspectives: one prioritising the preservation of traditional physical standards for combat lethality, and the other viewing the review as a retrograde step that undermines the proven contributions of women in the military since 2016.
