Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is laying the groundwork to push qualified women out of combat jobs. Take action now: Tell Congress to support our military women and preserve their ability to serve our nation in any military role, including combat.
For more than 10 years, thousands of women have been serving in ground combat jobs: infantry, armor, artillery, and special forces. They entered those roles after the ACLU brought a lawsuit in 2012 challenging the Department of Defense’s unconstitutional policy excluding them from combat jobs. Now, Secretary Hegseth wants to roll back the clock – putting at risk a decade of progress that women fought for and won.
Without explanation, he’s ordered a “review” of women’s effectiveness in combat – widely seen as the first step toward restricting or even barring women’s eligibility for these positions. This comes after baseless claims he’s made that performance standards were lowered for women and that their service weakens military readiness – even though our nation’s senior military leaders testified before Congress and said he was wrong.
We’ve already filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding to know the basis for Secretary Hegseth’s study. Now Congress must also act – and stop his abuse of power.
The warrior Act is our way to do just that. This bill would safeguard women’s ability to compete for combat roles, reaffirm the job performance standards already in place, and strengthen congressional oversight over any proposed changes so that standards are based on mission success and not politics or stereotypes.
Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor and help pass the warrior Act now.
The truth is, the performance standards for combat jobs are the same for men and women, and have been – by law – for 30 years. Military leaders and the military’s own research confirm that the more than 5,000 women serving in combat roles aren’t just meeting the standards but excelling.
But given Secretary Hegseth’s record of firing highly respected senior military women and blocking the promotions of other senior women leaders, it’s no surprise that he’s trying to prevent women from serving in elite ground combat jobs.
Thank you for taking action,
Vania Leveille
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU National Political Advocacy Department
P.S. There’s more to the story. Read our latest blog to learn more about what Secretary Hegseth’s review could mean for women in combat, and what’s at stake.
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