Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that the requirements for all military combat arms jobs “returns to the highest male standard only.”
“War does not care if you’re a man or a woman, neither does the enemy,” Hegseth told hundreds of general and flag officers on Tuesday at Quantico, Virginia
The move was one of several major changes that Hegseth announced on Tuesday, including mandating that service members exercise during the duty day, requiring all troops to take a PT test twice a year, and reviewing equal opportunity and inspector general policies. In total, Hegseth said he is sending 10 new directives to senior military leaders.
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Hegseth added that the U.S. military is not trying to prevent women from serving in combat jobs, but said that may be the result.
“When it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender neutral,” Hegseth said. “If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent. But it could be the result. So be it.”
Changes to PT
Stressing the need for all troops to meet military standards, Hegseth announced that all troops will be required to take a PT test and meet height and weight requirements twice a year going forward.
“Also, today at my direction, every warrior across our joint force is required to do PT every duty day,” Hegseth said. “It should be common sense. 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.”
His announcement comes after Undersecretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier told reporters last week that the service’s top leadership did not plan to require airmen and Space Force guardians to exercise during the duty day because such a decision should be left to lower level commanders.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations – or really any formation – and see fat troops,” Hegseth said on Tuesday. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.”
During his speech, Hegseth announced a new requirement for combat arms units: That they “execute their service test at a gender-neutral, age-normed male standard scored above 70%.”
Hegseth also announced the creation of a “combat field test” for combat arms units. Troops must be able to take the tests with combat equipment at any time, in any environment.
“These tests, they’ll look familiar,” Hegseth said. “They’ll resemble the Army Expert Physical Fitness Assessment, or the Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test.”
Another of Hegseth’s directives requires the entire military to conduct a review of standards that may have been altered since 2015, when combat roles were opened to women. He said services should revert to “tried and true physical standards” from previous eras, claiming that combat arms standards have been changed to allow women to qualify for those jobs and “hit racial quotas.”
Grooming standards
Speaking to his large audience of generals and admirals, Hegseth elaborated on his recent directive that troops who require waivers for shaving after one year of medical treatment can be separated.
He also appeared to take aim for the first time at some shaving waivers issued for religious reasons.
Leaders at all ranks set the standards, he said.
“This also means grooming standards,” Hegseth said. “No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression. We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards.”
One unanswered question is how the changes on shaving waivers will affect troops with Pseudofolliculitis Barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition common in up to 60% of Black men that is made worse by shaving.
“A 100% effective treatment is to let the beard grow. Once the hairs get to be a certain length they will not grow back into the skin,” according to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology.
Still, Hegseth appeared to be uncompromising on the issue, declaring that, “The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.”
He likened his emphasis on grooming standards to the broken windows theory in criminology, explaining: “If you let the small stuff go, the big stuff eventually goes; so you have to address the small stuff.”
Hegseth added that troops who want to grow beards can join Special Forces. Those troops often grow facial hair to meet cultural norms of countries where they operate.
In 2019, the Army issued a religious waiver to a soldier who was an observant Norse Pagan, allowing him to wear a beard, but Hegseth said on Tuesday that “we don’t have a military full of Nordic Pagans.”
“But unfortunately, we have had leaders who either refused to call B.S. and enforce standards, or leaders who felt like they were not allowed to enforce standards,” Hegseth said. “Both are unacceptable.”
Ending ‘risk aversion’ and ‘liberating’ commanders
In an April 23 memo which Hegseth called the “No More Walking On Eggshells Policy,” he directed a review of the DoD’s equal opportunity and inspector general policies. On Tuesday, he hinted that incoming directives would further slash those processes and “end the poisonous culture of risk aversion” and be “liberating” to commanders and non-commissioned officers. He noted that infractions for racism and sexual harassment would be “ruthlessly enforced” and remain illegal.
“No more frivolous complaints, no more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complaints, no more smearing reputations. No more endless waiting, no more legal limbo,” he said. “No more side-tracking careers. No more walking on eggshells.”
Another part of the directives will change how adverse information on personnel records are retained, Hegseth announced. This comes days after the Army issued their own force-wide message instituting a waiver program that removes record flags and allows soldiers under investigation to still be promoted, go to military schools, get awards, and other career progression moves.
“People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career,” Hegseth said. “Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes, and that’s not the business we’re in. We need risk takers and aggressive leaders.”
Hegseth also said that the Pentagon would review definitions of “so-called toxic leadership” on bullying and hazing “to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing” — essentially changing the culture of boot camp for recruits.
In this new era, the Department of Defense will “empower drill sergeants to instill healthy fear in new recruits” by allowing them to bay toss, do shark attacks, curse and “put their hands on recruits,” Hegseth said.
“This does not mean they can be reckless or violate the law, but they can use tried and true methods to motivate new recruits to make them the warriors they need to be,” he said.
UPDATE: 9/30/2025; this story has been extensively updated with comments from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
