The top enlisted leaders for each of the military branches — all of whom are men — said they have no issue with women in combat roles meeting the same standards as men.
The remarks were in response to a question posed at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday about a recently ordered Pentagon review of the “effectiveness” of women in combat jobs. The review, which will look at data on ground combat troop readiness, training, casualties, and deployability, comes more than a decade after the Department of Defense lifted the ban on women in combat roles.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) asked the all-male panel for their input, saying that the review was “an attack on women” and that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was “laying the groundwork” to reverse the decade-old policy that approved women to serve in combat jobs.
“It also undermines the sacrifice of thousands of female service members who have already met the rigorous gender-neutral standards and have served in combat with distinction,” she said.
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Hirono prompted the enlisted leaders to answer the question: “Do you believe the mere fact of women being in these combat arms units lowers standards?”
She directed the question to each enlisted leader and they all disagreed.
“I’ve seen no data that supports that there’s any lowering of standards or that there’s lowering of the readiness of units with those females in those units,” said Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff David Isom, a former member of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6.
Both Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Perryman IV and Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlos Ruiz responded the same way, saying: “Senator, no.”
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer also said “no,” adding that “I’m not seeing anything that leads me to believe there’s an issue with meeting the standard or affecting readiness.”
And Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Wolfe said that “From my perspective, I serve with some of the best war fighters that the world has ever known. Some of them happen to be men. Some of them happen to be women. Absolutely not. I have not seen any erosion.”
Lastly, “from the Space Force perspective, we’ve not seen any erosion in the readiness based on any of the administration’s positions,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John Bentivegna.
In January, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said that the military’s combat standards would be “uniform” and “sex neutral,” adding that they “will not compromise standards to satisfy quotas or an ideological agenda.”
A number of women who served in combat arms, like infantry and armor, told Task & Purpose that they have repeatedly proved that they can meet the same standards as men — whether by graduating from Ranger School, one of the Army’s most physically grueling schools, or in their day-to-day jobs, which require they complete physically demanding tasks like loading artillery shells or even carrying their peers on their back.
Hirono then asked the leaders if they agreed that troops, “regardless of gender,” should be allowed to serve in any role, including combat arms, if they meet “established standards.”
All agreed, with Weimer adding, “Yes, senator. It’s about standards.”
