(Pentagon) Today Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered a department-wide review of existing standards set by U.S. military branches pertaining to physical fitness, body composition, and grooming, which includes but is not limited to beards.
“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,” Hegseth said.
“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,” he added.
SECDEF: High standards arc what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.
We are made stronger and more disciplined with high, uncompromising, and clear standards.
I am directing the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) to gather 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 USD(P&R) will conduct a review of these standards and how they have changed since January 1,2015.
The review will also provide insight on why those standards changed and the impact of those changes.
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.
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.
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Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot added in a statement to Breitbart News:
“Unfortunately, the U.S. military’s high standards on body composition and other metrics eroded in recent years, particularly during the tenure of former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley, who set a bad example from the top through his own personal corpulence. Secretary Hegseth is committed to restoring high standards, and this review is the first step in doing so.”

NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (March 06, 2023) General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with Sailors during his visit to Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, March 6, 2023. As the “Gateway to the Mediterranean,” NAVSTA Rota provides U.S., NATO and allied forces a strategic hub for operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NAVSTA Rota is a force multiplier, capable of promptly deploying and supporting combat-ready forces through land, air and sea, enabling warfighters and their families, sustaining the fleet and fostering the U.S. and Spanish partnership. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Hannah Fry)
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