As a woman who served proudly in the U.S. Army for ten years — five years in the Army Reserve and five on active duty — I wholeheartedly agree with Hegseth here: women should not be placed in combat roles. ...

What I am saying, however, is that putting women in combat should not be the goal, and the reason for that is simple: most can’t — and shouldn’t — handle it. And that fact is made abundantly clear by the fact that most, “G.I. Jane” notwithstanding, can’t even make it through training and meet the standards set for men in the same roles.

What Hegseth said on that point was exactly right: women in combat roles have not made the military “more effective” or “more lethal.”