The Pentagon’s review of having women in ground combat jobs is now being conducted by a different organization—three months after it began.
The Pentagon announced the review in January to determine “operational effectiveness of ground combat units 10 years after the Department lifted all remaining restrictions on women serving in combat roles.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who said in a November 2024 podcast appearance that women should not serve in combat roles, backed down in his confirmation hearing by telling senators they would be allowed if they met the same standards as men.
Up until April, the planned six-month review was designated to be carried out by the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a Virginia-based non-profit corporation that runs three research and development centers to help with the government’s national security issues. However, Military Times reported that the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory will now lead it. And the deadline, which had been six months from January, has been pushed back to a year from this month.
A Pentagon official told the publication that the move was prompted by a reevaluation of what the work entails.
“The Department has since recognized the need to incorporate combat-relevant field tests, based on established tasks, conditions, and standards, into the independent review to produce the comprehensive data required for this effort,” the official said.
“DoW has engaged the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to assume responsibility for the study from IDA, effective April 2026,” the official added. “JHU/APL, a University Affiliated Research Center, has the capability to examine existing personnel and operational data, as well as conduct the field tests, ensuring a unified effort that will further posture our warfighters to meet mission objectives.”
The review will “identify the dominant drivers of combat performance variance in ground combat units and provide evidence-based findings to inform force design, training, physical standards, and readiness decisions,” the official explained.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast about what specifically caused the reassignment of the review, and how much of it had already been completed before the change.
The Daily Beast has also contacted the IDA and the Johns Hopkins lab.
Hegseth found himself in hot water earlier this month after removing the Army’s highest-ranking officer, Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George.
According to The New York Times, George and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll refused Hegseth’s demand to remove two Black and two female officers from a promotion list. Some senior military officials reportedly questioned Hegseth’s rationale because most of the 29 other officers to be promoted were white men.
Hegseth has also led a crackdown on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives and language at the Defense Department—with partial success.
