Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday defended women in the military and their eligibility for combat roles, calling them “very courageous and very proficient” in their service to the country.
“I think our women add significant value to the United States military, and we should never change that,” he said during a meeting with reporters during a stop in Laos. “[They] add value to the finest and most lethal fighting force on Earth.”
Austin’s comments were prompted by questions about his potential replacement, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who has publicly stated that women do not belong in military combat roles.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and Fox News host, for the top civilian military post on Nov. 12.
In an interview on the Shawn Ryan podcast just five days before his nomination, Hegseth said that “everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat means casualties are worse.”
“I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” Hegseth added. “It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal. It has made fighting more complicated.”
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Hegseth said that he does not favor pushing women out of the military altogether, just limiting their exposure to front-line combat roles as much as possible.
Women currently make up about 18% of the active-duty military. Roughly 4,800 women serve in Army infantry, armor and artillery jobs, according to data provided by the Defense Department to the Associated Press. Several have qualified for special forces jobs.
Austin said he served alongside numerous women in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan during his military career, adding, “Every place I went, there were women doing incredible things.”
He did not comment directly on Hegseth’s comments or nomination.
Hegseth will need to be confirmed by the Senate early next year before taking over the top Pentagon post. The chamber’s members include two female veterans who served in combat zones in Iraq: Iowa Republican Joni Ernst and Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth.
Hegseth has also courted controversy for public remarks supporting firing “woke” military officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown.
He was also investigated for an alleged sexual assault in 2017. No charges were filed, but attorneys for Hegseth have confirmed that Hegseth paid an unspecified sum to the accuser to head off other potential legal action.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.
