WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been outspoken about his opinion that women should not serve in combat roles.
Here’s a look at how many women are in such military roles, as of the 2024 budget year:
- Navy Special Warfare combat crew: 2
- Air Force special operations: 3
- Green Berets: Fewer than 10
- Completed the Army Ranger course: more than 150
- Total serving in Army Special Operations Command as special forces, civil affairs, psychological operations and helicopter pilots, including in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment: 260 to 270
Thousands of women have served or currently are in jobs that until 2015 were male-only.
MARINES:
- Officers in job categories previously restricted to men, including infantry, artillery and combat engineers: Nearly 192
- Enlisted Marine in those jobs: 410
That number has steadily increased since 2018.
ARMY:
- Serving in Army infantry, armor and artillery jobs: Nearly 4,800
- Field artillery roles: More than 2,020
- Infantry: More than 902
- Armor: 864
The number of women in those jobs also has increased over the years.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.