Think the military lowered its standards for women? Think again.
Originally published by Amy McGrath and Michael O’Hanlon for the Washington Post
In recent years, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been part of a movement questioning the full integration of women into the U.S. armed forces. This school of thought argues that women’s presence in the military has led to a lowering of standards of physical fitness and strength that largely explains the nation’s struggles on the battlefield in modern times.
Is Hegseth right? And, if so, should something be done about it? Our answer to both questions is no.
Leave aside the fact that most young American men today do not meet military fitness requirements — and that, without women, who now make up 18 percent of the active-duty military, the services’ recent recruiting challenges would be much worse. The fact, as a recent Brookings Institution event with several retired military officers underscored, is that military standards have not been lowered. Nor have easier standards been adopted for women. In military specialties where relatively fewer meet the necessary physical standards, such as the infantry, there are smaller concentrations of women — as we might expect.