Women already must pass gender-neutral physical fitness requirements for combat posts, but Hegseth contends the standards for women are lower.
The confirmation came after recovery teams pulled the soldiers' M88 Hercules armored vehicle from a swamp Sunday night.
Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, said it would be a “long and difficult recovery operation.”
U.S. and Lithuanian personnel continued the complicated recovery efforts Thursday of four U.S. soldiers missing in swampy terrain in Lithuania.
