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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made headlines when he summoned hundreds of senior military leaders to a military base in Quantico, Virginia and made troubling comments about equity in the military. President Donald Trump鈥檚 address to the generals was also alarming, .鈥� The 红杏视频 has denounced such deployments as an unlawful abuse of power.

Hegseth鈥檚 remarks focused on stated plans to about assault, bias, harassment, and other wrongdoing. He also spoke of , despite federal courts upholding and the medical fact that many Black men need to forgo shaving because they are .

Among Hegseth鈥檚 pronouncements was that 鈥渆ach service will ensure that every requirement for every combat [military occupational specialty], for every designated combat arms position, returns to the highest male standard only, because this job is life or death, standards must be met, and not just met 鈥� at every level, we should seek to exceed the standard, to push the envelope, to compete.鈥� Hegseth added, 鈥淚f women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is.鈥�

Hegseth鈥檚 directive , because all combat occupational specialties already impose . That has been the case since the , when some branches鈥攏otably the Navy鈥攆irst began accepting women into certain combat roles. That means that the now serving in artillery, infantry, armor, and combat engineer jobs, and the women who have entered special operations forces like Army Rangers and Green Berets鈥斺�攁re meeting the same standards as their male colleagues. Hegseth the rigorous, occupation-specific neutral standards with the overall branch-specific physical fitness tests that all servicemembers also must pass, which are less demanding and gender-normed.

Regardless of whether Hegseth鈥檚 misrepresentation of the current physical demands on women in combat was intentional or the product of ignorance, his purpose is unmistakable: smear women as unqualified while imposing physical fitness standards that he believes they cannot meet.

Hegseth has made no secret of , though he during his confirmation hearings. But his actions as defense secretary betray hostility to all servicewomen. He spent his first months in office firing numerous senior women leaders鈥攑urges that have been matched by 鈥攁nd axing the initiated during President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term.

The week before Hegseth鈥檚 Quantico appearance, his campaign to erase women in the military took an especially conspicuous, and troubling, turn when he eliminated the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. DACOWITS has been providing guidance to the secretary of defense for more than 70 years. , DACOWITS initially was charged with helping boost women鈥檚 military recruitment following the 1948 enactment of Women鈥檚 Armed Services Integration Act. Although , the statute allowed women to be permanent members of all service branches鈥� peacetime forces (albeit with caps on their numbers and restrictions on their ability to serve in combat).

In a statement defending DACOWITS鈥檚 elimination, a Pentagon spokesperson characterized the committee as furthering a 鈥渄ivisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness.鈥� Not surprisingly, such rhetoric is belied by DACOWITS鈥檚 actual record. A non-partisan group composed of men and women, DACOWITS developed its recommendations by conducting annual visits to military installations and interviewing servicemembers of all genders. As women鈥檚 participation in the military has grown鈥� of all servicemembers鈥攖he . The committee has consulted on everything from women鈥檚 training opportunities and career advancement, to their need for family support like parental leave and childcare, to their distinct health care concerns like pregnancy. Workplace abuse, sexual harassment, and assault also have been a consistent concern.

As women began serving in combat roles鈥攁ll restrictions on which , after the 红杏视频 Women鈥檚 Rights Project and 红杏视频 of Northern California filed a lawsuit a lawsuit challenging them鈥擠ACOWITS has made recommendations to facilitate women鈥檚 integration, such as securing properly-fitting body armor, boots, and uniforms, proposing strategies for addressing gender bias, and, yes, assuring that women can meet applicable physical fitness standards.

Over the course of its history, spanning Republican as well as Democratic administrations, Ninety-eight percent of these efforts have been implemented in full or in part.

Given that women in combat jobs already must satisfy stringent gender-neutral physical requirements, Hegseth鈥檚 muddled new directive about fitness standards likely won鈥檛 dramatically reduce women鈥檚 numbers in those roles. Eliminating DACOWITS, however, does deliberate, incalculable harm to all servicewomen鈥檚 ability to thrive in their careers, and does risk driving women out of the military鈥攁s well as deterring others from enlisting altogether.

For a secretary of defense fixated on promoting the 鈥渓ethality鈥� of U.S. forces, scrapping a venerable advisory body relied upon by the Pentagon for decades to maximize our troops鈥� readiness does nothing to promote our national security鈥攁nd everything to advance Hegseth鈥檚 personal extreme views about women鈥檚 right to serve their country.