In response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent call to reevaluate the effectiveness of women in combat roles, leaders from each service branch told lawmakers that the inclusion of women in combat has not seen the lowering of standards that Hegseth has questioned, Military Times reported. 

Senior leaders from the services testified to the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee, encouraging the continued inclusion of women in combat. 

“I’ve seen no data that supports that there is any lowering of standards or that there’s lowering of the readiness of units with those females in the units,” Navy Master Chief David Isom said. 

Army photo by Christopher Davis