Canada’s top military official, General Jennie Carignan, on Saturday called out US Senator Jim Risch‘s comments about the role of women in combat during a panel at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia. She expressed concerns about the need to justify the “contribution of women to defense and service in their countries.”
During the same forum on Friday, Risch, the ranking member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked whether Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump‘s nominee for defense secretary, should retract his remarks suggesting that men and women should not serve together in combat units. In response, Risch said, “I think it’s delusional for anybody to not agree that women in combat create certain unique situations that have to be dealt with. I think the jury’s still out on how to do that.”
Addressing Risch‘s statement the next day, Carignan, the first woman to lead the Canadian Armed Forces, firmly countered his comments. “If you’ll allow me, I would first like to respond to Senator Risch’s statement yesterday about women in combat because I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with the idea that women are a distraction to defense and national security,” she said.
Carignan, a 39-year veteran with extensive combat experience, emphasized the invaluable contributions of women in defense. “After 39 years of service as a combat arms officer and risking my life in operations around the world, I can’t believe that in 2024, we still have to justify the contribution of women to defense and service in their country,” she said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to leave this forum with the idea that this is some kind of social experiment.”
Her remarks received a standing ovation from the audience, which included defense and security officials from various Western democracies.
Carignan’s military career
Carignan was promoted to the rank of general during a change-of-command ceremony this summer, becoming Canada’s first female defense chief—a position appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s government.
A trailblazer in the Canadian Armed Forces, she was also the first woman to command a combat unit. Her illustrious career includes deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Syria.
For the past three years, she served as the chief of professional conduct and culture, a role created in response to a 2021 sexual misconduct scandal.
