INDIANAPOLIS — President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head up the Department of Defense is Fox News host Pete Hegseth, a combat veteran who won two bronze stars and graduated from Princeton and Harvard.
However, Hegseth was recently on the "Shawn Ryan Show" and gave his stance on women in combat roles.
"I'm straight up saying we shouldn't have women in combat roles," Hegseth said.
Some women who have served in combat roles have responded to those comments.
"Quite honestly, would I want my daughter to be in combat? Probably not," said Danville native Jennifer Hughes, who served in the United States Air Force for 25 years, before retiring two years ago.
Hughes won't say if she agrees or disagrees with Hegseth's position on women in combat roles. She herself has served in a combat zone in 2006 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
That was seven years before the United States military lifted the ban on women serving in ground combat positions.
"I absolutely believe women can do it and do it well. They're strong. They're very intelligent. The women in the military are quite resilient, and you kind of have to be because of the ratio of men to women," Hughes said.
According to the Department of Defense, in 2022, 17.5% of the United States military's active duty force was made up of women.
"I believe he's going to go in with the joes in mind," said Kathryn Elkins, a combat veteran with the Army National Guard.
Elkins is happy with Trump's choice of Hegseth. Elkins says when she retired from the Army National Guard almost two years ago after serving 22 years, she had reached the rank of major.
Elkins, who served in Afghanistan, says she's not bothered by Hegseth's comments about women in combat roles.
"Let's get the right person in the right position based off of capabilities alone," Elkins said. "It's mission first."
"We definitely, 100% if we want to, we should be allowed to," said combat veteran Emily Oestreich, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and knows what a war zone feels like.
"No matter what your gender is, the first time you are in a combat situation and you experience taking incoming fire, it is very, it shakes you to your core," Oestreich said.
Oestreich says Hegseth's recent comments might be disheartening for some, but she doesn't believe those comments will deter women who feel called to serve their country in the United States military.
"I think we'll continue to rise to the occasion and rely on our training and execute our jobs and our responsibilities, whether it's ground combat or any other," said Oestreich, adding it's been an honor and privilege to serve her country in that way for the past 21 years.
"Being in the military, whether you're male or female, is not an easy job. It's not an easy task," Oestreich said. "Also, there is the additional layer that happens whenever you begin to expand your family."
"Can you do it? Absolutely, 100%," Oestreich said. "Is it going to be easy? No, it's not, but it's something that is the most fulfilling thing that you can do and it's so rewarding."
"I think it's important that we, as women, that we remember that, and we remember that we share our voice and let other young women know that we can do it, we will do it, we have and we're still doing it," Oestreich said. "I think that's the thing to keep in mind if you're considering joining the military."