Hegseth made the fitness test harder for women in combat roles. Most female Marines are passing.

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals from around the world to Quantico, Virginia, last September, he delivered a blunt message: Things were changing fast in the newly renamed Department of War. ... What mattered going forward, Hegseth said, were standards. “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat [units] with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men,” he said. The same day, Hegseth signed a directive requiring sex-neutral fitness standards for all troops in combat roles. The service began implementing the new...