US EditionWhat Are ‘Highest Male Standards’ on Military Fitness Tests?
War Secretary Pete Hegseth mandated combat standards based solely on the highest male criteria, affecting women and Black service members, with women comprising 17.3% of active-duty forces in 2021.
- On Tuesday morning in Quantico, War Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled directives to reset combat requirements and eliminated medical beard waivers, which critics say will disproportionately affect Black service members.
- Hegseth has long argued the changes roll back 'woke' policies and promotions tied to race or gender quotas, though he told the Senate he supports women serving in all roles.
- Under the new rules, all service members face a physical assessment twice a year and yearly weight checks, plus a combat field test resembling the Army Expert Physical Fitness Assessment and Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test.
- The announcement prompted immediate shock among members of the U.S. military, while female combat veterans pushed back and some Republicans, including Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, praised the changes.
- Observers note the change aligns with an authoritarian trend, while analysts warn excluding women could weaken readiness and recruitment, William Hall and Thom Hartmann said.
55 Articles
55 Articles
Hegseth Wants 'Male Standard' for Combat Roles. Many Female Veterans Say That's Already the Case
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an address 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.
Weak Men Get a Deserved Scolding From Pete Hegseth
Source link Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had stern words for anyone seeking to skirt the highest standards of fitness in the military Tuesday, as he announced a return to the “highest male standard” for physical fitness. “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,” Hegseth said about reinforcing physical standards for
CNN’s Inside Politics Decries Hegseth Upping Fitness Military Standards
CNN’s Inside Politics Decries Hegseth Upping Fitness Military Standards The Tuesday afternoon guests on CNN’s Inside Politics couldn’t fathom the possibility of women being further excluded from frontline combat roles due to heightened military fitness standards. This was in response to Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech to top military leadership at Quantico, VA, in which he explained clear expectations for service member fitness and culture. CNN…
'The highest male standard': Here's what Pete Hegseth had to say to American military leaders
“No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship, no more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris,” Pete Hegseth said during an address to American military leaders. Armed with a 10-point plan and pacing a stage in Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth enumerated for hundreds of assembled military leaders just how much of the force’s policy, philosophy and culture …
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