By Nadine Yousif

Copyright bbc

In his speech, Hegseth said: “Any place where tried-and-true physical standards were altered, especially since 2015, when combat arms standards were changed to ensure females could qualify, must be returned to their original standard.”

He appeared to refer to a directive in 2015 by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter that all military jobs be open to women and that any person, regardless of gender, who meets the standards should be able to serve.

“When it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender neutral,” Hegseth said. “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is.”

Broadly, Hegseth said he was changing requirements throughout the military to “fix decades of decay” and that the armed forces have “promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons,” like race, gender and “historic so-called firsts.”

Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran who was severely injured while serving as a combat pilot in Iraq, told the BBC after the speech: “For a guy who’s not qualified for his own job, it’s pretty discriminatory to talk about women who are qualified to do their jobs.”

She added that his remarks could hurt recruitment.

Women in the US military were first allowed to fly combat aircraft in the Navy and Air Force in 1993, although they were excluded from ground combat. That changed in 2013 when the Combat Exclusion Policy was lifted and by 2016 combat roles were open to all.

Because of how recently women were included in all ranks, many are now still in the middle of their careers, Ms Cardnell said.

“It takes time to see those women break that brass ceiling, and we haven’t had a chance to see that,” she said.

Now active and veteran female soldiers are concerned that Hegseth is building a military culture where women will be undermined and unable to advance, she said.

“Leadership sets the tone,” she said.

Not all female soldiers opposed Hegseth’s comments.

Republican House Representative Sheri Biggs, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, said in a statement on Tuesday to the Associated Press that she supported the defence secretary’s efforts to end “woke” policies from the military.

“Returning to standards that prioritize excellence and accountability puts America’s security and our servicemembers where they belong — first,” Biggs said.

Another South Carolina Republican, Representative Nancy Mace, who graduated from The Citadel military college, posted on X in support of Hegseth.

“Our enemies don’t fear diversity quotas. They fear American firepower,” she said.