Will Thibeau

But it's about what the military is. The It is not a place where you necessarily deserve a fair shot at the job that you might think you deserve. It's a job where only the best is needed and where masculine virtue is absolutely necessary. And there's no greater way of laying that disparity clear than in the physical fitness test, but it is where we were told the most brazen lies.

But it's about what the military is. The It is not a place where you necessarily deserve a fair shot at the job that you might think you deserve. It's a job where only the best is needed and where masculine virtue is absolutely necessary. And there's no greater way of laying that disparity clear than in the physical fitness test, but it is where we were told the most brazen lies.

And it's why, although this policy change, of course, by the Defense establishment is kind of, you know, tossed aside and said it's just an issue of identity politics. That's not true. It is at the core of what it means to be in the military.

And it's why, although this policy change, of course, by the Defense establishment is kind of, you know, tossed aside and said it's just an issue of identity politics. That's not true. It is at the core of what it means to be in the military.

And that's to maintain physical excellence and to be capable of going to what we called in the Army the limited advance with your unit, no matter the challenge ahead of you. That's what the Army Combat Fitness Test measured.

And that's to maintain physical excellence and to be capable of going to what we called in the Army the limited advance with your unit, no matter the challenge ahead of you. That's what the Army Combat Fitness Test measured.

and we're finally one step closer for it to being a genuine test of physical excellence and not just a pass-fail metric before you can include all other characteristics of identity politics.

and we're finally one step closer for it to being a genuine test of physical excellence and not just a pass-fail metric before you can include all other characteristics of identity politics.

Will. Right, and that's the point. One thing that I think is worth making explicit again is, Under the Obama administration, standards became mere pass-fail metrics for the bare minimum of what it took to serve in some of these units. Even when I joined the Army, what the fitness test was, it was a means of determining who is the best and who is the rest, from first to worst.

Will. Right, and that's the point. One thing that I think is worth making explicit again is, Under the Obama administration, standards became mere pass-fail metrics for the bare minimum of what it took to serve in some of these units. Even when I joined the Army, what the fitness test was, it was a means of determining who is the best and who is the rest, from first to worst.

And if you were first, you got whatever job you wanted, and you filled out the units by order of merit individually. Standards have not been that since the policy change that Secretary of Defense Hegseth describes. That's a fundamental difference when we're measuring our military on pass-fail minimum metrics as opposed to genuine excellence in the pursuit of being the best.

And if you were first, you got whatever job you wanted, and you filled out the units by order of merit individually. Standards have not been that since the policy change that Secretary of Defense Hegseth describes. That's a fundamental difference when we're measuring our military on pass-fail minimum metrics as opposed to genuine excellence in the pursuit of being the best.

I'll also say, he glazed over this too, military generals, uniformed generals, recommended against this policy change even back in 2015, about 10 years ago. I would be hard-pressed to think that there are many two-, three-, and four-star generals who would put their career on the line and recommend against such a policy change today.

I'll also say, he glazed over this too, military generals, uniformed generals, recommended against this policy change even back in 2015, about 10 years ago. I would be hard-pressed to think that there are many two-, three-, and four-star generals who would put their career on the line and recommend against such a policy change today.

As I said at the start, there were many generals who lost their mind when it became clear that that women weren't performing as well under the first iteration of the Army Combat Fitness Test. And so with help from Democrat senators, the Army changed that test. So let's also use this as an occasion to ask serious questions about the military leaders who are implementing this policy.

As I said at the start, there were many generals who lost their mind when it became clear that that women weren't performing as well under the first iteration of the Army Combat Fitness Test. And so with help from Democrat senators, the Army changed that test. So let's also use this as an occasion to ask serious questions about the military leaders who are implementing this policy.

In many cases, these are the same leaders who carried forward the Obama policy and for different units. And now we're expecting them to all of a sudden faithfully execute Trump administration policy. We need to be really careful about how that gets implemented.

In many cases, these are the same leaders who carried forward the Obama policy and for different units. And now we're expecting them to all of a sudden faithfully execute Trump administration policy. We need to be really careful about how that gets implemented.

perhaps a handful, but the point is, what does this do to the culture and the unit cohesion of these units? Frankly, Charlie, I can tell you firsthand That even if it's just one or two women in a large unit, that is kind of a reorganizing principle based on something other than lethality and readiness. The whole framework for how a unit trains and fights is different.

perhaps a handful, but the point is, what does this do to the culture and the unit cohesion of these units? Frankly, Charlie, I can tell you firsthand That even if it's just one or two women in a large unit, that is kind of a reorganizing principle based on something other than lethality and readiness. The whole framework for how a unit trains and fights is different.