WASHINGTON (AP) — The jury is still out on whether women can be successful in infantry jobs, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday, while offering students at the Virginia Military Institute a dim view of female troops serving on the front line.

Mattis, a retired Marine, said there are too few women in the infantry ranks to provide enough data to determine how they're doing. And he said he has asked Army and Marine leaders for information to determine if having women in a "close-quarters fight" is a strength or a weakness.

"There are a few stalwart young ladies who are charging into this,...