Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced he would impose the “highest” male standards for all combat roles in the U.S. military during his Tuesday morning speech to hundreds of generals and admirals at Quantico, Va.
“At my direction, each service will ensure that every requirement for every combat MOS [military occupational specialty], 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,” Hegseth told the attendees at the event.
“It’s common sense and core to who we are and what we do. It should be in our DNA,” he added.
The move will result in fewer women serving in combat roles.
“If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is,” he said. “It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify — because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”
Before joining the Trump administration, Hegseth had advocated against women serving in combat roles. During his confirmation process, he assured senators that he would support women serving in all roles in the military.
Hegseth announced Tuesday the U.S. military is 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 that look familiar, they’ll resemble the Army Expert Physical Fitness Assessment or the Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test,” the Pentagon chief said.
“I’m also directing that warfighters in combat jobs execute their service fitness test at a gender-neutral age norm, male standard scored above 70 percent,” Hegseth added.
Apart from raising the physical standards, his speech also touched on having promotions within the military being “merit-based,” with “lethality” considered above all.
The Defense secretary also announced that every service member, regardless of rank, will be required to take the physical assessment twice a year, along with meeting weight and height requirements during every year of service.
“Today, at my direction, every warrior across our joint force is required to do PT [physical training] every duty day. Should be common sense. Most units do that already, but we’re codified, 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,” Hegseth said.
Last week, the U.S. Air Force revealed the new “Culture of Fitness” initiative, changing the current physical fitness test by making it biannual for all service members and adding a 2-mile run. At the beginning of March next year, service members will be tested under the standards.