Axes panel.

Hegseth axes panel that encourages women to enter military

The advisory committee, which has existed for nearly a century, advances “a divisive feminist agenda,” a Pentagon spokesperson said.

By Paul McLeary

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has shuttered a nearly century-old committee created to expand the role of women in the military, part of a broader effort to redefine the image of the armed forces.

The closure of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services — one of dozens of study groups that offer guidance to the secretary — is Hegseth’s latest effort to rid the Pentagon of efforts that don’t fit into his “warrior ethos” vision for the department and service academies.

The former Fox News host, who has previously questioned the role of women in combat, has also shut down a program that boosts the number of women in peace building and conflict prevention efforts, calling it “woke” and “divisive.”

Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson, in announcing the latest decision Tuesday on X, said the committee “is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness.”

Hegseth, in recent months, has also set grooming standards and sought to root out diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

The Defense secretary, in terminating the panel, is prioritizing “uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department,” Wilson said.

Former Defense Secretary George C. Marshall created the committee in 1951 under President Harry Truman to increase the number of female servicemembers and open up new career fields.

Hegseth, when pressed by lawmakers at his confirmation hearing, said he supported women in the military. “I respect every single female service member that has put on the uniform past and present,” he said. “My critiques, senator, recently and in the past, and from personal experience, have been instances where I’ve seen standards lowered,” for women to participate in combat.

He voiced less support on a podcast last year. “I’m straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles,” he said on The Shawn Ryan Show. “It hasn’t made us more effective. Hasn’t made us more lethal. Has made fighting more complicated.”