On September 30, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced a bold rule: all combat personnel must meet the highest male standard to keep their positions, aiming to “restore a ruthless, dispassionate, and commonsense application of standards.” “We’re training warriors, not defenders,” he said. “We fight wars to win, not to defend… War is something you do sparingly, on our own terms and with clear aims.” In other words: victory demands uncompromising strength, applied equally to all.
The military’s mission is clear: to be a warrior, you must meet the standard – no exceptions, no compromises.
But here is where the hypocrisy becomes glaring.
In women’s sports, we are told relentlessly that “there’s no difference” between men and women, and that biological males should be allowed to compete against females without question. Those who raise concerns are labeled bigots. Yet suddenly, when the reality of biology collides with the battlefield, the very same voices fall silent, or worse, claim that women are being treated unfairly.
Which is it? If men and women are truly “no different,” then requiring women in combat roles to meet the male standard should be celebrated, not criticized. If biology makes no difference, what’s the problem? The truth is obvious to anyone who is willing to be honest: biology does matter. Strength, speed, and endurance are not social constructs; they are realities. That is why the military enforces a single, uncompromising standard, and why allowing men to compete in women’s sports is fundamentally unjust.
This double standard exposes the contradictions of modern gender ideology. Activists demand that women athletes accept biological males in their locker rooms and on their teams, insisting it is “fair.” Yet when women in combat must meet the same standards as men, those same activists suddenly admit that biology puts women at a disadvantage.
America needs consistency. If strength and biology matter on the battlefield, they matter on the playing field. If fairness requires a single standard for soldiers, it requires female-only categories for athletes. Biology, standards, and fairness are not negotiable. We cannot honor them for our warriors while denying them to our daughters. It’s time to apply the same truth everywhere, or risk betraying both.
Nickie McCarty is the State Director for Concerned Women for America of New Mexico. She is also a former educator and athletic director.
