Stop the appointment of Pete Hegseth! 

Why is Hegseth a terrible choice for Defense Secretary?

• His opinion on women in the military is backwards and antiquated. Women have been serving in the U.S. military since the American Revolution. 
• Women have informally served in combat roles over the decades, and since 2016 have been actively and officially been enlisting into over 120,000 roles previously closed to women. 
• Enlistments in the U.S. military are decreasing among men, but increasing among women. Since 2017, active-duty and selected reserve have risen 1.1% and 1.8% respectively among women enlistees.
• Contrary to popular myth, standards are not lowered for women.
  What Hegseth suggests is discrimination against women. His suggestion is that the formal acceptance of women into combat roles be ended, but that women continue to be pushed into doing these jobs, “without recognition and benefits” (his words). 
• According to Sen. Tammy Duckworth: “With the recruiting challenges we’re having right now, if we were to pull all those women out and say, you can’t go into combat, we would face a severe personnel crisis in the military.”         
• Sexual harassment, assault, and rape in the military continue to be at dangerous, unacceptable levels, with no real reduction. Women have a 1 in 3 chance of experiencing these attacks, while men have a 1 in 8 chance. A Secretary of Defense with discriminatory attitudes toward women sets a foundation for gender and sexual discrimination and harassment and sets a poor example for servicemembers at all levels.
• U.S. military members deserve a Defense Secretary who cares not only about military readiness, but about their safety, health, and welfare. A man with a history of sexist and discriminatory attitudes and behaviors is a poor example for all troops and a danger to those serving.
• Pete Hegseth is not qualified. Although we respect his veteran status, he has never held a leadership position that gives him the knowledge, ability, and skills to lead an organization with a $900 billion budget and over two million personnel. Nothing in his history has given him the expertise necessary to serve in an appointment so tied to our country’s security.  With a world that grows more dangerous every day, we need a strong, skilled, respected leader at the help of the Department of Defense. Pete Hegseth is not that person.
• In 2024, there should be no place in our military for discrimination against those who volunteer to defend our country.

The undersigned veteran men and women, along with their civilian allies, strongly encourage our elected officials in Congress to reject the appointment of Pete Hegseth as the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

The signed petition will be sent to U.S. Senators, who are in charge of confirming appointees.