OAN Staff James Meyers
10:49 AM – Thursday, March 13, 2025
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday that the Pentagon will be conducting a review of the physical fitness, grooming hygiene, and body composition standards that are currently in place for the military.
Military “body composition” standards, while varying slightly by each branch, generally focuses on maintaining a healthy body fat percentage and weight-for-height ratio for optimal health and performance.
The order from Hegseth comes after the Biden administration lowered restrictions on grooming and hairstyle standards for military personnel, as well as body fat percentage requirements for new recruits.
“High standards are what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet,” Hegseth wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leaders, Department of Defense field activity directors and commanders of the combatant commands
“The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose,” the defense secretary added. “We are made stronger and more disciplined with high, uncompromising, and clear standards.”
The review will be carried out by the Pentagon’s Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness department.
It will thoroughly examine the “existing standards set by the Military Departments pertaining to physical fitness, body composition, and grooming, which includes but is not limited to beards.”
The leaders will specifically examine how those standards have changed since January 1st, 2015, the past decade — providing an insight into how they have evolved and the effect of those changes.
“The review will also provide insight on why those standards changed and the impact of those changes,” Hegseth said. “The USD(P&R) has the authority to task the Secretaries of the Military Departments and other DoD Component heads as necessary to provide any required information in support of this review and will provide detailed guidance to the Military Departments.”
“We must remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’ s most lethal and effective fighting force,” the Pentagon chief continued. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging.”
“This review will illuminate how the Department has maintained the level of standards required over the recent past and the trajectory of any change in those standards.”
Hegseth has repeatedly stated that he will bring back much stricter standards while reversing “woke” policies that don’t coincide with restoring “warrior ethos,” ultimately rebuilding the military and reestablishing successful instruction.
“Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear,” he said in a January 25th memo to service members. “The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.”
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