Pentagon hands combat effectiveness study to Johns Hopkins APL

The U.S. Department of Defense assigned a long-running study on women in combat roles to the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. The agency transferred the work from the Institute for Defense Analyses, a nonprofit based in Alexandria, Virginia. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the laboratory is now conducting the review but declined to explain the decision.

Civil rights groups and military advocates worry the move allows the department to select a specific researcher at APL. They point to Yevgeniya Pinelis, who led a 2015 study on Marine Corps combat units. That research concluded that integrating women had negative effects on unit performance. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has frequently cited Pinelis’s work to support his opposition to women in combat roles and his implementation of strict sex-neutral fitness standards.

The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia describes Pinelis’s 2015 study as flawed and biased. The legal action was brought by the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, the Service Women’s Action Network, and other organizations. They filed the suit to force the Defense Department to answer a Freedom of Information Act request submitted in August. Federal law requires the department to respond to such requests within 20 business days.

Gillian Thomas, senior counsel for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, said the department has provided no transparency regarding the study’s intent. She argued that understanding why the Pentagon is reviewing women’s ability to serve is a matter of national security. Thomas noted that giving the project to a researcher with a specific public track record is concerning and that an explanation is owed to the public.

The initiative was first announced in a December 2025 memo by Anthony Tata, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Tata stated the goal is to evaluate the operational effectiveness of mixed-gender units. This follows a 2013 policy by former Secretary Leon Panetta that lifted restrictions on women in combat positions. The military had until early 2016 to implement the change.

The review occurs as the department undergoes significant changes under President Donald Trump. Hegseth, who has referred to the agency as the Department of War since January 2025, has faced criticism for promoting fewer women and minorities to senior positions. His administration has also eliminated women-centered programs and issued new guidance on harassment definitions.

Johns Hopkins University is the largest recipient of defense contracts among the 15 research centers funded by the Pentagon. The Applied Physics Laboratory, located in Laurel, Maryland, was founded in 1942. In its June financial report, the university stated that the Department of War accounts for about 70 percent of APL’s revenue for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. The laboratory generated about $2.8 billion in the fiscal year ending in June 2025, which represents roughly one-third of the university’s total revenue.

Over the past decade, the Defense Department awarded approximately $12 billion in contracts to APL, according to audited financial statements. Representatives for APL and Pinelis did not respond to requests for comment. Pinelis’s career has focused on the military, including stints at APL, the Defense Department, and the Marine Corps. Her 2015 study has faced criticism for using a small and inequitable pool of male and female participants.