Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said women should be willing to serve in combat if they “meet the criteria.”
“Women are also in the fight. It doesn't matter if a 762 hits you in the chest. No one cares whether it was a woman or a man who pulled the trigger,” he said during his speech. National Security Innovation Forum on wednesday.
“If we meet standards, our military must and always will be a standards-based, merit-based military. White, black, male, female, Catholic, Protestant, etc. No,” he added.
“What matters is the standards, the readiness standards. Do you meet the standards? If yes, pass go, collect 200 and join the infantry. ”
In recent weeks, leaders have pushed back against Pete Hegseth over his comments about women in combat, after he was nominated by President-elect Trump to head the Pentagon.
“I want to be candid and say that we shouldn't put women in combat roles. It doesn't make us more effective, it doesn't make us more deadly, it doesn't make combat more complicated.” Hegseth said. Podcast “Sean Ryan Show” Two weeks ago.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) responded to those comments by saying, “Where do you think I lost my footing?”
“We cannot go to war today without military women,” she later said during a CNN appearance, acknowledging that there are more than 225,000 active-duty women serving in the military.
While some Senate Republicans are optimistic about Hegseth's appointment, others question how his lack of experience will help him manage a $1 trillion budget.
