No More Women - Hegseth Continues His March

He already removed the highest-ranked female general, and now this.

Mar 13, 2025

The American Legion posted an article today entitled, Hegseth orders review of fitness, grooming standards for all service branches.

While, yes, I am always in favor of updating standards in the military, especially as a veteran who was negatively impacted by out of touch rules, Hegseth has made it clear that he doesn’t believe that women belong in military, much less combat roles.

According to the article,

Hegseth has long been a critic of physical fitness standards in the armed forces, in particular saying that the inclusion of women in combat has led to lowered standards.
The ban on women serving in combat roles was lifted in 2013 by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and women were fully integrated into those roles by 2016.

Again, his own words from his book just emphasize that point,

Hegseth wrote in his most recent book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published last year, that women are not fit for combat because they “cannot physically meet the same standards as men.”

I disagree.

Not only have I met more than a handful of men who live on the bottom end of physical standards, I have met more women who could pass male standards, if required.

Not to mention, I have many friends who served with military police (MP) efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan post-9/11. I didn’t hear any negative commentary about them not carrying their own and protecting their fellow Soldiers.

UPDATE SHARP INSTEAD

Obviously, women aren’t the issue. Sure, in the microcosm of the military, there are some terrible people, men and women, but for the most part, the vast majority of Servicemembers aren’t a threat to our defense readiness.

If Hegseth was actually interested in increasing the effectiveness of our military, he would focus on updating the standards of the rampant sexual harassment and assault that happens to women in the military, stateside and in combat zones.

But he strikes me as someone who would consider that increase of reporting as another sign that women should not be in the military. You know, because if we didn’t serve, this wouldn’t happen, right? I mean, we’ve never had any reports of our Soldiers assaulting local civilian girls and women.

And before anyone decides they want to come for me, updating and expanding the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program protects not only women who serve, but men who serve alongside them, as there is a continued rise of reports of men-on-men assaults. And no, not gay men, but straight men in combat roles deployed overseas attacking straight and gay men.

But he’s not interested in making a better military, but culling his self-proclaimed ‘undesirables’ from an already understaffed organization, who have chosen to serve their country voluntarily.

I’m sure this will be a good move, right?

His Qualifications (or Lack Thereof)

Before his confirmation, Senators Mark Kelly and Tammy Duckworth, both well-known military veterans wrote a joint op ed about Hegseth for the Military Times. And while they acknowledge and thank him for his service, they note that he is woefully underqualified for the position he now holds.

Mr. Hegseth likes to talk about how the U.S. military is the ultimate meritocracy. We agree. So let’s talk about his merits for this job: While we respect his service in the Army Reserve and National Guard, he did not rise to a command position where he would learn the management, joint forces operations, logistics and other skills relevant to the role he’s up for now. He never commanded a task force or a detachment — nothing near the scale or scope of the 3 million people who make up the DOD.
These military experiences aren’t requirements for the job, but his civilian leadership experience is not just limited, it is also fraught with evidence that he is not an effective or trusted leader. He financially mismanaged two veterans political organizations, with his staff alleging that he misused funds, was frequently drunk in front of them and fostered an environment where sexual harassment was an issue. He spent the last seven years as a Fox News host, where his alcohol consumption was also a concern among his co-workers. We would not tolerate this kind of reckless behavior from recruits — there is absolutely zero reason we should tolerate it from the man who is supposed to be their leader.

Not that anyone should be surprised that he was Trump’s pick to be the defense secretary, since he fits the mold of sycophant. But there were so many better, more qualified options. Not that Trump cares. Or understands how anything works outside of the dead squirrel on a squeaky wheel inside his skull.

But I digress.

Final Thoughts

The idea that the diversity of our military is some ‘woke agenda’ that weakens us in the face of global threats is asinine. That he can’t see that (no surprise) only reflects his idea that ‘white is right’. I mean, he did get pulled from Biden’s inauguration for his white supremacist tattoos.

Hegseth has tattoos of the Jerusalem cross and the Latin phrase “Deus Vult”, which means “God wills it”. In multiple interviews, Hegseth has said he was barred from serving with the National Guard at Biden’s 2021 inauguration because of his cross tattoo. He did not mention his “Deus Vult” tattoo in these interviews or during the hearing.
The Associated Press news agency reported that another guard member flagged Hegseth’s “Deus Vult” tattoo as a possible “insider threat” because of its association with supremacist groups. Hegseth was told not to report to the inauguration.*

But he’s not a racist, right?

I just can’t help but think this is one more way our president is paving a road for his bestie, Putin. I hope I’m wrong.

Only time will tell.

Mentally Flossed

Discussion about this post