International | Battle and the sexes

Women warriors and the war on woke

Trump’s Pentagon pick wants women off the battlefield

Marine recruits from Bravo Company move ammunition cans through an obstacle course during the Crucible, a grueling 54-hour field exercise, at Parris Island, S.C., USA.
Photograph: Hilary Swift/New York Times/Redux/Eyevine

ON JANUARY 14TH Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defence, will be grilled by senators on his suitability for the job. He will be quizzed on allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking. He is also certain to face questions about women and war. “We should not have women in combat roles,” he said in a recent podcast. He acknowledged that women had served “amazingly” in America’s armed forces and that female fighter pilots were welcome, but argued that women were simply not strong enough to serve in infantry, armour and artillery units. Since admitting women, “the standards have lowered,” he said.

More from International

President-Elect Trump Holds Press Conference At Mar-A-Lago

Team Trump is getting handover hints from Team Biden

Even winners can learn some lessons from the losers 

Teen girl using social meadia with phone and glass with lemonade

Young people are having less fun

Youthful excess continues to decline


illustration of people dancing and celebrating under a colorful sunset, holding bottles and glasses, with scattered items like bottles and a cane on the ground.

Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation

Baby-boomers are keeping their bad habits into retirement


Is the age of American air superiority coming to an end?

The growing effectiveness of air-defence systems could blunt the West’s most powerful weapons

Why warriors should welcome laws of war

Lessons from a 17th-century thinker on preventing crimes against humanity

What has four stomachs and could change the world?

Technology is transforming cattle farming, but not fast enough