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Women who served in the armed forces are responding against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's statement that requirements for combat roles will "revert to the highest men's benchmark," stating the standards have always been the equal for men and women.

"None of us have at any point asked for preferential treatment," a former US Navy service member, who was enlisted for five years, explained reporters.

Addressing numerous military leaders on Tuesday, Hegseth reiterated his views that the armed forces had reduced standards to accommodate women and put troops at risk. His new directives would bring them back to a more rigorous standard, he stated.

"If it means zero females qualify for frontline roles, then so be it," he commented.

He asserted that women would not be barred from the military outright.

Some female veterans were angered.

"I am sick and tired of Pete Hegseth lying about women in the military and standards," former US Marine fighter pilot Amy McGarth said in a social media post.

"There has always been one standard for such positions," she continued. "There was never a man's standard or a woman's standard for operating an aircraft."

The Navy veteran, too, said that sex and years were not included in assessments given for military positions.

Military requirements are established variably depending on the division a person is assigned to, whether they are in elite units, ground forces, armour or pararescue, she stated. However, all personnel in those roles have to successfully complete the identical assessment.

"These requirements have consistently been gender neutral, and they have historically been set at a rigorous level," she said. "Of course, not all women are going to make those, but not all men fail as well."

This is not the identical for the yearly fitness assessments given to all service members, which comprise standard drills like upper-body exercises. There, the requirements and results vary according to years and sex, and the tests vary by unit.

The veteran said it remains unclear if Hegseth will actually implement major reforms to how military personnel are evaluated.

In his speech, Hegseth said: "Any place that tried-and-true physical standards were altered, particularly since 2015, when combat arms standards were changed to allow females could meet criteria, must be returned to their original standard."

He appeared to refer to a directive in 2015 by then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter that every armed forces position be open to women and that every individual, regardless of sex, who meets the standards should be able to enlist.

"When it comes to every position that requires strength to perform in battle, those fitness requirements must be high and gender neutral," Hegseth remarked. "Should females can make it, excellent. Otherwise, it is what it is."

Broadly, Hegseth explained he was changing standards throughout the armed forces to "address decades of decay" and that the military have "advanced an excess of officers for the wrong reasons," like race, gender and "notable initial achievements."

Lawmaker Tammy Duckworth, an former service member who was critically wounded while on duty as a military aviator in the Middle East, told reporters after the speech: "From someone who's unfit for his own job, it's pretty biased to discuss women who are qualified to perform their duties."

She noted that his remarks could harm recruitment.

Women in the armed forces were first allowed to pilot military planes in the air and sea branches in the early nineties, although they were excluded from frontline duties. This shifted in recent years when the restriction on female combat roles was lifted and by that period military positions were open to all.

Due to how recently women were included in every level, numerous are currently in the middle of their professional paths, Ms Cardnell said.

"Progress is gradual to see those women break that brass ceiling, and we have not yet had a opportunity to see that," she stated.

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

"Leadership sets the tone," she noted.

Some female soldiers disagreed with Hegseth's statements.

GOP lawmaker Sheri Biggs, who was enlisted as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, stated in a announcement that she backed the defence secretary's efforts to eliminate "progressive" directives from the armed forces.

"Returning to standards that prioritize high quality and accountability places America's security and our troops where they belong — foremost," Biggs remarked.

A further GOP representative, Representative Nancy Mace, who graduated from The Citadel academy, posted on online platforms in support of Hegseth.

"Our enemies are not intimidated by diversity quotas. They dread American firepower," she wrote.