White’s groundbreaking finish in the Best Ranger Competition comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders a broader review of the requirements for combat roles.
In late March, Hegseth ordered a 60-day review of the military’s physical fitness standards to distinguish combat roles from non-combat and implement higher requirements as needed.
“We need to have the same standard, male or female, in our combat roles,” Hegseth, a former National Guard infantryman and Fox News host, said in a video posted to X. “Soon, we’ll have nothing but the highest and equal standards for men and women in combat.”
Hegseth had said during a podcast in November that he didn’t believe women should be in combat roles at all, arguing that it “hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.”
However, ahead of his confirmation hearing, Hegseth appeared to soften his staunch opposition.
“If we have the right standard and women meet that standard, roger. Let’s go,” he said during a December interview on the “Megyn Kelly Show.”
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