Sec. Pete Hegseth Announces Return to ‘Highest Male Standard’ for Combat Roles

Hegseth: “I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape or in combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat arms physical standards as men, or troops who are not fully proficient on their assigned weapons platform or task, or under a leader who was the first, but not the best. Standards must be uniform, gender neutral, and high. If not, they’re not standards, they’re just suggestions — suggestions that get our sons and daughters kill. When it comes to combat arms units — and there are many different stripes across our joint force — the era of politically correct, overly sensitive ‘Don’t hurt anyone’s feelings’ leadership ends right now. At every level, either you can meet the standard, either you can do the job, either you are disciplined, fit and trained, or you are out. And that’s why today, at my direction — and this is the first of 10 Department of War directives that are arriving at your commands as we speak and in your inbox — today, at my direction, each service will ensure that every requirement for every combat MOS, for every designated combat arms position, returns to the highest male standard only. Because this job is life or death. Standards must be met. And not just met. At every level, we should seek to exceed the standard, to push the envelope, to compete. It’s common sense and core to who we are and what we do. It should be in our DNA. Today, at my direction, we’re also adding a combat field test for combat arms units that must be executable in any environment, at any time, and with combat equipment. These tests, they’ll look familiar. They resemble the army expert physical fitness assessment or the marine corps combat fitness test. I’m also directing that war fighters in combat jobs execute their service fitness test at a gender neutral, age-normed male standard scored above 70 percent. It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the secretary of war can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our joint force. Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations or really any formation and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It’s a bad look. It is bad and it’s not who we are. So, whether you’re an airborne ranger or a chairborne ranger, a brand-new private or a four-star general, you need to meet the height and weight standards and pass your PT test. And as the chairman said, yes, there is no PT test. But today, at my direction, every member of the joint force, at every rank, is required to take a PT test twice a year, as well as meet height and weight requirements twice a year, every year of service. Also today, at my direction, every warrior across our joint force is required to do PT every duty day. It should be common sense. I mean, most units do that already. But we’re codifying it. And we’re not talking like hot yoga and stretching. Real, hard PT, either as a unit or as an individual. At every level, from the joint chiefs to everyone in this room, to the youngest private, leaders set the standard. And so many of you do this already: active, guard and reserve.”