Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an address Tuesday to the military’s top leaders waded back into a topic that nearly derailed his confirmation early this year and helped elevate his voice as a Fox News commentator — the fitness of women to serve in combat.

Hegseth told hundreds of military commanders at a hastily called gathering in Virginia that there would be new directives to ensure that the requirement for every position in combat “returns to the highest male standard.”

He said that “if that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” while stressing that the military will continue to welcome women into its ranks.

“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in combat units with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as

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