Pete Hegseth-Men and women shouldn’t serve together in combat units
Pete Hegseth penned a book and spoke during interviews where he argued against the idea of integrating women and men in special forces and infantry units. Hegseth argued that this move has neither made these units more effective nor more lethal. He also argued that this move makes fighting more complicated. Despite Hegseth’s acknowledgement that women have effectively served in other roles in the military, roles that also experienced combat, his argument didn’t sit well with others.
From AP News:
“Who’s going to replace them? Men? And we’re having trouble recruiting men into the Army right now,” said Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who works with the Service Women’s Action Network.
The military services have struggled for years to meet recruiting goals, facing stiff competition from companies that pay more and offer similar or better benefits. And a growing population of young people aren’t interested in joining or can’t meet the physical, academic and moral requirements.
Removing women from contention for jobs, said Manning, could force the services to lower standards to bring in more men who have not graduated high school, have criminal records or score too low on physical and mental tests.
Lawmakers are divided on Hegseth’s views.
“Where do you think I lost my legs, in a bar fight? I’m pretty sure I was in combat when that happened,” snapped Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., in an CNN interview last Wednesday after Trump’s selection was announced.
Duckworth, who flew combat missions in Iraq and lost both legs when her helicopter was hit, added, “It just shows how out of touch he is with the nature of modern warfare if he thinks that we can keep women behind that sort of imaginary line.”
Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., praised Hegseth and said the reality is that certain military jobs “just need brute strength. ” But he added, “women have served incredibly well, honorably in combat roles, and I don’t think that policy is going to change, but we’ll leave it up to him.”
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump transition, said Hegseth has dedicated his life to supporting American troops and his country, and cited his service in Iraq and Afghanistan and two Bronze Stars.
“He is an incredibly tough and smart candidate that will fight to put America first. With Pete as our secretary of defense, America’s enemies are on notice and our military will be great again,” Cheung said.
Additional Reading:
Baldor, L. C. (2024, November 19). Should women be allowed to fight on the front lines? Trump’s defense pick reignites the debate. AP News. Link.
Category: Military issues
