Former Defense Secretary backtracks on nominee’s claim that women should not serve in combat units

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is among those pushing back on past comments from President-elect Donald Trump as the next Defense Secretary, who was critical of allowing women to serve in combat units.

“I’m just going to be honest: We shouldn’t have women in combat roles,” said Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, in a recent podcast interview that aired last week.

“It hasn’t made us more effective, it hasn’t made us more lethal, it hasn’t made fighting more complicated,” he said on “The Shawn Ryan Show.”

Hegseth’s comments have raised concerns among former service members with firsthand experience serving in integrated units, as well as former Defense Secretary Panetta, who in 2013 lifted the Pentagon’s ban on women serving in ground combat units.

“Comments like this come from a bygone era and I think it’s important for him to take the time to really look at how our military is performing in an outstanding manner,” Panetta told ABC News in an interview.

“We have the best military in the world, and the reason is that we have the best fighting men and women in the world who are part of it,” he added.

“I just think anyone who takes the time to really look at how women perform in combat will say that’s exactly where they belong,” he said.

In the podcast interview, Hegseth said the decision to allow women to serve in ground combat units has lowered the physical standards for those who want to serve in those units.

Panetta recalled that leading up to his decision, he had pushed back on the idea that allowing women to serve in combat units would lower physical standards.

“We should not lower standards. We should demand that women meet exactly the same standards as men, and that is what they are doing,” he said at the time. “They wouldn’t be in these positions if they couldn’t meet the required standards.”

Panetta said, “The mere fact that that hasn’t become an issue at all in terms of how the military has performed is a reflection of the simple reason that both men and women are held to the same standards when it comes to fighting for America.”

Of the more than one million active duty military personnel, 17.5% are women, according to the latest Pentagon statistics.

The process of integrating women into combat units has been gradual, beginning in 1993 when Secretary of Defense Les Aspin issued an order allowing women to fly in combat.

But women were not allowed to serve in ground combat units until 2013, when Panetta rescinded the ban that was then tightened in 2015 by Defense Secretary Ash Carter, paving the way for women to serve in jobs that were still limited to men, including some at special operations.

In 2019, more than 600 female sailors and Marines served in combat arms units previously limited to men, while more than 650 women served in Army combat roles and more than 1,000 had accessed Army combat specialties.

Currently, more than 2,500 women serve in previously closed ground combat jobs, 152 women have passed the elite Ranger School test and 10 of them serve as Rangers in the 75th Ranger Regiment, according to a review of military personnel information compiled by the retired Army colonel army. Ellen Haring, of the Service Women’s Action Network.

Haring points out that the full integration of women into combat units actually occurred during President Trump’s first term and that standards have never been lowered to accommodate women.

“Women have been serving in combat jobs for almost a decade now and there is absolutely no evidence that women have harmed combat units,” she told ABC News. “In fact, a lot of standards had to be established when they considered admitting women because these had previously been loosely defined.”

“Those claiming they have been downgraded have no actual knowledge of the educational requirements or how women have been held to the exact same requirements,” she said. “If they think the standards for women have changed or are different, I challenge them to go to Fort Moore today and watch the implementation of the training.”

Twenty years ago, Allison Jaslow led a convoy security unit in Iraq that regularly came under small arms fire and was exposed to explosions from roadside bombs.

“Women have not only been in combat for a while, but many are stronger than many of their male counterparts. Need proof? Just look at the women who have graduated from Ranger School, which is so tough that about half of the men who participate are failing,” Jaslow said in a statement issued in her role as CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

“These women deserve a Secretary of Defense who is aware of that reality and also ensures that the culture in the military embraces that reality – especially as we continue to face a recruiting crisis,” she added.

Garrett Jordan, a former Army captain who served in integrated combat units, counts some of his female classmates at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point among those who are now Army Rangers or have commanded infantry and armor companies.

“Women have served in combat arms units, both in command and military positions, and continue to do so and excel,” he said.

As a former Army officer, Jordan said he is “well aware of the physical endurance, technical competence and mental strength required to serve in a tank unit and to perform the duties and responsibilities as a soldier in a combat arms division.”

Jordan said women in the training classes he led “maintained the standard just as well as their male counterparts,” he said.

“Ultimately, gender does not determine whether or not someone has the physical strength or competency to serve in these units,” Jordan said. “There is a standard, and if soldiers, regardless of gender, meet it, they should be given the opportunity to serve in these units.”