A major Pentagon review on the effectiveness of women in ground combat will be led by different hands now, with the effort shifted to Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

The six month independent review, commissioned by Undersecretary of War Anthony Tata in December, was originally slated to be conducted by a Washington area nonprofit that runs several federally funded research centers.

The shift comes as the department marks the ten year anniversary of Ash Carter lifting the ban on women in ground combat roles at the end of 2015. The transition indicates a renewed focus on hard data, field tests, and real world performance.

This review, the official said, is “in line with standard [Department of War] practice for evaluating the effects of significant policy changes.” Yet the reassessment of study requirements prompted a change in who does the work. “The Department has since recognized the need to incorporate combat-relevant field tests, based on established tasks, conditions, and standards, into the independent review to produce the comprehensive data required for this effort,” the official noted.

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“DoW has engaged the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to assume responsibility for the study from IDA, effective April 2026. JHU/APL, a University Affiliated Research Center, has the capability to examine existing personnel and operational data, as well as conduct the field tests, ensuring a unified effort that will further posture our warfighters to meet mission objectives.” The new arrangement promises a more integrated approach to the testing and analysis that will affect future force design and readiness decisions.

The Pentagon says the change is about producing better information for policy choices. “To inform what’s now being called the ‘Performance, Readiness, and Integrated Mission Effectiveness Assessment,’” the department is pursuing analytical methods that identify the drivers of combat performance variance in ground units and translate findings into practical guidance on training, physical standards, and deployment readiness, the official said.

This shift aligns with the long-standing practice of conducting policy-change reviews to learn and adjust, even as it arms leaders with data to justify decisions that affect the force.

Historically, the department has framed these reviews as routine checks on policy adjustments. The official pointed to past exercises involving major reforms, including internal assessments linked to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal and external studies by think tanks connected to the Pentagon.

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They stressed that analyses like these are designed to generate lessons and improvements, not to open the door to retroactive policy reversals. Whether the same standard applies in this case remains to be seen, but the effort is framed as a serious effort to tighten readiness and effectiveness.

The discussion has inevitably touched on broader questions about gender integration and mission readiness. In December, Tata described the review as gauging “the operational effectiveness of ground combat” elements and the impact of permitting women to enter the roles.

Leadership across the services were asked to provide a broad array of data, from training performance to command climate and readiness for deployment. A memo at the time from Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson suggested the review would be rigorous about standards, saying the Pentagon “will not compromise standards to satisfy quotas or an ideological agenda — this is common sense.”

The leadership has not shied away from the real-world politics of this topic. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has been a vocal advocate for maintaining high standards while arguing for a strong, ready force. He expressed opposition to women serving in combat roles in his 2024 book “The War on Warriors,” saying they couldn’t meet the physical requirement and adding, “We need moms. But not in the military, especially in combat units.”

Those views softened in 2025 during his Senate confirmation hearing, when he stated that women would continue to have access to ground combat roles, “given the standards remain high.”

In September, he announced that ground combat jobs would be reserved for those who meet “the highest male standard.” The Pentagon official stressed that the upcoming combat effectiveness review, now to be carried out by JHU/APL, reflects a commitment to continuous improvement and to keeping the force capable of facing evolving threats.

With the transition to a new contractor, the department emphasizes a discipline of continuous learning and improvement. The new timeline extends the window for rigorous data collection and analysis, aiming to provide clear, evidence-based findings that can guide force design, training, and readiness decisions.

The stakes are high, and the leaders insist they will not compromise on safety, capability, or lethality in the name of expediency.

The War Secretary and the administration have made plain their intention to strengthen the military while maintaining strict standards that uphold the integrity of the profession and the health of the force.

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