Pentagon’s Women-in-Combat Review Reassigned as Pete Hegseth Pushes for ‘Highest Male Standard’

After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that women should not serve in combat positions, the Pentagon took the responsibility of reviewing whether women are performing well in ground combat roles.

However, the study has now been handed to a different group.

The Pentagon initially started this review in January to look at what has changed over the past 10 years since women were allowed to serve in all combat positions.

At first, a research group called the Institute for Defense Analyses was supposed to handle the study.

Now, after officials took another look at the plan, the work has been reassigned.

A six-month study on how well women are performing in combat roles was first given to the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a nonprofit research group based near Washington, D.C., by the Pentagon.

It was planned to begin around the 10-year mark of when former Defense Secretary Ash Carter ended the ban on women serving in ground combat roles in 2015.

However, Military Times reported that officials later decided the study needed a more detailed testing. Therefore, the Pentagon has now reassigned the review to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory ((JHU/APL) starting in April 2026.

Officials have asserted that the new group has the tools and experience to carry out both data analysis and field tests.

“The Department has since recognized the need to incorporate combat-relevant field tests, based on established tasks, conditions and standards, into the independent review to produce the comprehensive data required for this effort,” an official said.

“The department has engaged the JHU/APL to assume responsibility for the study from IDA, effective April 2026,” the official added,

The official further stated, “JHU/APL, a University Affiliated Research Center, has the capability to examine existing personnel and operational data, as well as conduct the field tests, ensuring a unified effort that will further posture our warfighters to meet mission objectives.”

The review is now being called the “Performance, Readiness and Integrated Mission Effectiveness Assessment.”

In addition, the official also said that the review will “identify the dominant drivers of combat performance variance in ground combat units and provide evidence-based findings to inform force design, training, physical standards and readiness decisions.”

It was also clarified that the goal is to better understand what affects performance in ground combat units.

The Pentagon’s review of women in combat roles began after earlier comments from officials raised questions about standard issues.

At the time, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the military “will not compromise standards to satisfy quotas or an ideological agenda — this is common sense.”

Later, Hegseth also shared similar views in his 2024 book The War on Warriors. He argued that women may not meet the physical requirements of combat roles, and restricted their roles to motherhood.

He said, “We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units.”

However, during his Senate confirmation hearing in 2025, Hegseth took a softer tone.

He said women could still serve in ground combat roles, as long as they meet strict standards.

Hegseth insisted that “the standards remain high” for ground combat roles, and therefore women must meet those standards to access these roles.

Further, the defense secretary announced in September 2025 that ground combat jobs would be reserved for those who meet “the highest male standard.”

Eventually, these views pushed the Pentagon to start a review of combat effectiveness.

A Pentagon official said, “The ‘Performance, Readiness and Integrated Mission Effectiveness Assessment’ is expected to further this tradition, increasing the lethality and readiness of the force.”