Virginia Kruda
Appearances
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
Well, he's announced that he's going to officially address what he has described as a decline in physical standards for service members, particularly in combat arms roles. Specifically, he says it is not acceptable for the military to hold different standards for men and women, and he promised immediate change. Here he is in a video statement on Monday.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
He's not restricting women from taking on combat roles at all. He's simply saying that once the training standards are set, they will not be modified simply because the person doing the training happens to be female. Because combat training is and should be so intense, it's entirely possible that this will mean fewer women are able to complete it.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
And if that's the case, there will be fewer women in combat arms jobs. But it won't be because they're women. It will be because they cannot meet the prescribed standards. Those who can will continue to serve in that capacity. We should also note that Hegseth followed his initial announcement with a second video, explaining that the new revised standards would only impact combat arms jobs.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
So to really break this down, you have to go back to 2013, when former President Obama's Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, opened up combat arms MOSs to women. That acronym stands for Military Occupational Specialty, and it refers to whatever specialty training a soldier might have after going through the basic combat training that everyone does.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
Before Panetta changed things, women were already serving in supplemental roles that would occasionally put them in combat situations— They often served as medics or vehicle operators, for example, but they were not put intentionally into jobs like the infantry, where the only place they could go to do their job effectively was direct combat.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
It was all in the name of equality. The official policy statement was that if women could do the job, they should be allowed to have the job. But I, along with a lot of others, predicted early on what would happen once Panetta opened that door. Very few women, if any, would be able to meet the tough physical demands of infantry training.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
So in order to be progressive and promote gender equality, either the training standards would have to be lowered across the board or the women would be held to a different and lower standard.
Morning Wire
Trump’s Tariff Fallout & Military Standards Equalization | 4.4.25
It all comes down to the politics. Especially in today's political climate, no one wants to be the guy who told women they do not have what it takes to serve in combat roles. And even though that's not really what Hegseth is saying here, that's how it will be portrayed by critics and legacy media.