Last week, the Israel Defense Forces announced it will no longer train female soldiers to serve in infantry mobility units due to concerns about their physical preparedness. It is no small announcement that after two years of sustained warfare, the prime example of a modern sex-integrated military decided to backtrack. As Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted in a tweet last weekend, this is major news for militaries around the world that are reconsidering the role of women in combat.

Israel’s decision highlights the obvious. Proper physical fitness is imperative for soldiers operating in combat roles—not only so they may achieve their objectives effectively, but also so they do not cause undue danger to themselves or their teammates. Soldiers must be able to trust each other. Real-world experience, from Israel to U.S. Army Special Operations Command, demonstrates that it is entirely reasonable to wonder if such trust can be maintained in co-ed military combat units.

Prior to the current administration, the U.S. military employed different fitness test requirements for men and women. A recent memo from Secretary Hegseth directed the secretaries of the military departments to submit proposals for new fitness tests with sex-neutral requirements for identified combat roles. The memo instructed the branches to submit their proposals within 60 days of its publication on March 3, but the new Army Fitness Test (AFT) is the only proposal to be released thus far.

As significant as the new directive is, a future administration that prioritizes sex-based diversity could reverse Secretary Hegseth’s action with the stroke of an autopen. In the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual approval of the DoD’s budget and expenditures, Congress should take the opportunity to cement Secretary Hegseth’s changes in legislation.