A soil reinforcing element for use in a mechanically stabilized earth structure is disclosed. The soil reinforcing element may include a pair of longitudinal wires extending substantially parallel to each other and having a connection end. A plurality of transverse wires is coupled to the pair of longitudinal wires and laterally-spaced from each other, thereby forming a welded wire gridworks. To increase the tensile capacity of the soil reinforcing element and also improve pullout valued from the backfill, the soil reinforcing element is made of positively deformed wire or bar stock. An end connector is coupled to the connection end and facilitates connection of the soil reinforcing element to a vertical facing.