The highest (male) standard

Pete Hegseth’s campaign to drum women (who are often better at ‘stuff’ than men) out of the military

Photo by Richard Catabay on Unsplash

Pete Hegseth is trying to diminish the contributions of women in the military, and that’s putting it delicately. The ACLU was more blunt when it said on one of their webpages that Hegseth wants women out of the military. Full stop. This impetus was clear early on when Hegseth fired senior female military leaders.

The brand of Christian nationalism that Hegseth subscribes to feeds his latest decisions to deny promotions to female military personnel. He also ended an important advisory panel for women, the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

Without saying it outright, he’s communicating that a woman’s place is in the laundry room doing battle with ring around the collar. That’s the real enemy, ladies.

His latest pronouncement about how the military should test male soldiers for their testosterone levels is bonkers. This “high T” declaration is meant to send a clear message: The military will have only the highest male standards.

Well, good luck with that. It’s a case of “Do as I say, not as I do.” The internet shows footage of Pete barely managing a pull-up, which, one could argue, goes to show that Hegseth’s own “T” obviously needs a boost. Or, how about, just get more fit?

I rail against institutions that deny women equal opportunities fairly often in this space, but I tend to focus on sports. I have never wanted to be in the military, but bless anyone—ANYONE—who does, and women have proven themselves capable in all aspects of service.

I’m not denying that there are differences between males and females, but you can’t keep women down. Historically, they have always found a way to contribute and to use their skills, even if men in charge believe otherwise.

This truth came home on a recent trip to Blank Park Zoo, a place I hadn’t been in 30 years or so. The parking lot is surrounded by old, decaying buildings, which are part of Fort Des Moines. This location served as an important military installation during both world wars.

Women have stood ready to offer aid in any armed conflict, but their roles expanded during World War II. According to the National Park Service, in 1942 “the War Department selected Fort Des Moines to be the new site for a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) officer training center.”

These weren’t official members of the U.S. Army, but as the name explains, they provided a supporting role to the war effort, and they were paid, but they didn’t receive traditional soldiers’ benefits.

The WAACs took their jobs seriously and were a great success, but Massachusetts Representative Edith Nourse Rogers believed that women should receive all the same pay and benefits as any regular member of the Army. In 1943, Nourse Rogers convinced her fellow members of Congress to pass a bill establishing the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) to succeed the WAACs.

Fort Des Moines became an important site for WAC training, with over 72,000 women enlisting between 1942 and 1945. It was the only site in the country that trained WAC officers.

Although many jobs were clerical in nature, some WACs oversaw the maintenance of firearms. Others tested machine guns and tank ordinance, but women were prevented from entering combat.

Still, General Douglas MacArthur held the WACs in high esteem for their work ethic and because they complained less than male soldiers. Other generals like Dwight D. Eisenhower also recognized the WACs’ contributions, and some suggested that the military should draft the WACs because they were more efficient and better disciplined than most male soldiers.

Does therein lie the rub? Do female soldiers make Pete Hegseth uncomfortable because they are too good at their jobs, even with low T?

The military already has standards for physical fitness, a general test and a harder test for specific occupations. Women serving in those special jobs have already met those benchmarks, but Hegseth wants to draw a different line in the sand, a testosterone-stoked line with the hope that no women will qualify.

Every country in the world permits women to serve in their militaries. If Hegseth were to somehow succeed in sending women packing, how does he expect to fill the ranks? He’s also denying promotions to Black and Brown male soldiers, so what’s his plan? If he’s aiming to create a manosphere military, I shudder for us all.

Intelligent people know from experience that having diversity of thought and experience enriches an enterprise, be it the boardroom or on the battlefield.

The women who signed up for the WAACs and then stayed to join the WACs did so because they wanted to serve their country, just like any patriotic man. The WACs served as best they could, given the limitations placed on them. I have no doubt that they would have done more, given the chance.

Denying women any opportunity of service is the wrong kind of American exceptionalism, but, sad to say, it is in keeping with the way this administration views the world.