A slew of decorated women who’ve served in the U.S. military gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a crash course on what it means to “qualify” for their combat jobs.
Hegseth’s recent remarks to top military brass on Tuesday about women’s fitness to serve set off a chain reaction of comments slamming his sexist directives that would ensure the requirement for every position in combat “returns to the highest male standard.”
“If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” he added in a speech to hundreds of military commanders gathered in Virginia.
Former Marine Amy McGrath, who was the first woman fighter pilot to fly a combat mission in an F/A-18 for the Marine Corps, stressed that there are no gender-based standards for combat soldiers.
“Pete Hegseth still has a lot to learn, I think, unfortunately,” she said on CNN after Hegseth made his speech to top admirals and generals, and after President Donald Trump said U.S. militaries should use cities around the country as “training grounds.”
McGrath, who challenged incumbent Republican Mitch McConnell in Kentucky’s 2020 Senate election, said there was not a set male or female standard for flying an aircraft. “You can either do it or you can’t,” she said, blasting Hegseth’s comments as “ridiculous” and Trump’s speech as “bonkers.” She said both men’s remarks signal that U.S. defense strategy is in trouble.
“Everybody sitting in that room knows that we don’t have a coherent foreign policy or defense policy,” she said. “And that, I think, is the bigger issue indeed.”
For Capt. Lory Manning, who served for more than 25 years in the Navy, Hegseth’s comments were another reminder that women have to prove over and over again that they can hang with the boys.
“Women have had to prove they were capable before positions became officially open,” said Manning, who commanded units of over 400 people and oversaw the Navy’s physical fitness standards.
“He hasn’t changed anything basic with regards to women,” she said of Hegseth. “He’s just got it in his head that women are somehow cheating.”
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat who lost her legs flying Army helicopters in combat missions during the Iraq War, also had some choice words for Hegseth’s screed against military women, saying it makes a “mockery of our veterans.”
“I think it’s ironic that the least-qualified person for his job is questioning the qualifications of women who actually have met the standards for their jobs,” she said on NPR. “[Hegseth] can do all the [physical training] in the world, but he couldn’t fly a helicopter.”
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