A small group of Texas National Guard troops was removed from duty in Illinois after War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s push for tighter physical fitness standards. 

The Texas Military Department confirmed the troops’ replacement on Sunday, saying, “We identified a small group of service members who were not in compliance and have been replaced,” according to multiple outlets. 

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The development comes just days after photos of several National Guard members arriving in Illinois went viral, with users on X calling them overweight and an ABC story featuring such images receiving nearly 30 million views. Hegseth often responds to news online, so it’s likely he saw the images ahead of the decision to replace the troops.

Hegseth celebrated the troops’ removal on Monday. 

“​​Standards are back at the Department of War,” he said in a post on X. 

The Pentagon chief’s statement comes after he railed against “fat troops” during a speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in late September, in which he argued that physical standards for U.S. service members have eroded and that it was time to raise the bar.

“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” Hegseth said last month in an address to U.S. generals. “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.”

Aside from stricter grooming standards, Hegseth has implemented a twice-a-year physical training test for all members of the joint force, which includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. Height and weight requirements will have to be met twice a year, according to the Pentagon. 

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Troops will also be required to meet gender neutral fitness tests for combat that follow the male standard. 

“My goal is unmistakable: Our core fighting formations must not just meet the standard — they must embody it. We need high, uncompromising, sex-neutral standards rooted in combat effectiveness. Every warfighter must be held to the same rigorous expectations,” Hegseth’s memo reads. “Military Fitness Standards.”