{"id":843695,"date":"2026-09-11T04:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T04:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/843695\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T04:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T04:08:10","slug":"pentagon-applies-sex-neutral-standards-for-combat-arms-troops-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/843695\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon applies \u2018sex neutral\u2019 standards for \u2018combat arms\u2019 troops \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pentagon policy has codified “sex neutral” physical fitness standards for troops in combat arms jobs.All military personnel will be held to uniform body composition standards.Commanders are now required to allow for daily fitness periods for those under their direction.<\/p>\n

Combat\u2019s physical demands are no respecter of gender \u2014 so the fitness standards for troops in front-line positions must be the same for males and females.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the long-held opinion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth \u2014 and one now codified by the Pentagon.<\/p>\n

A recent Defense Department policy formally establishes \u201csex-neutral\u201d physical fitness standards for troops across the Armed Forces assigned to military occupations classified as \u201ccombat arms.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes jobs such as an Army infantry soldier and cavalry scout, a Navy SEAL or diver, a Marine Corps rifleman or mortarman, or an Air Force combat rescue officer.<\/p>\n

The 22-page DOD \u201cPhysical Fitness\/Body Composition Program\u201d<\/a> also directs commanders in all military fields to allow for daily fitness sessions for their troops, establishes waist-to-height ratio body composition standards, and outlines testing timelines for postpartum service members.<\/p>\n

The policy replaces the DOD\u2019s 2022 fitness program.<\/p>\n

\"\"U.S Army troops training to serve as instructors participate in a combat fitness test at the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade compound at Fort Bragg, N.C., Jan. 8, 2019. | Gerry Broome, Associated Press <\/p>\n

The Pentagon\u2019s fitness report also follows Hegseth\u2019s 2025 memo directing his department to conduct a review of physical fitness standards across the ranks<\/a>, \u201cand how they have changed since Jan. 1, 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n

The year specified in the memo \u2014 2015 \u2014 is significant in recent U.S. military history. In December of that year, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter ordered the military to open all combat jobs to women.<\/p>\n

During his Senate confirmation hearing last year, Hegseth was grilled on his past comments regarding women in the military.<\/p>\n

In one appearance on Fox News in 2013, the Deseret News reported<\/a>, Hegseth said women don\u2019t measure up to men in the military, and that women shouldn\u2019t be allowed to serve in combat roles because it forces the military to lower the bar.<\/p>\n

The secretary later backed off that view, saying that he supports women in combat roles and that his primary concern is the lowering of standards.<\/p>\n

Now all fitness standards for \u201ccombat arms\u201d personnel are sex-neutral.<\/p>\n

Biannual fitness tests across the ranks\"\"In this Jan. 8, 2019, photo, U.S Army 1st Lt. Mitchel Hess participates in a weight lifting drill while preparing to be an instructor in a combat fitness test at Fort Bragg, N.C. | Gerry Broome, Associated Press <\/p>\n

The recent Pentagon report also directed all active-duty military members \u2014 regardless of occupation \u2014 to take part in fitness evaluations twice a year. <\/p>\n

Included in those biannual evaluations will be a service-specific fitness test and a second evaluation test modified for their combat arms or non-combat arms occupations.<\/p>\n

For noncombat personnel, the minimum fitness standards in tests will still be adjusted for sex and age. But for troops in combat arms jobs, fitness tests are \u201csex-neutral\u201d \u2014 and all will be required to score an average of 70% across all testing elements of the service-specific fitness test.<\/p>\n

The fitness test for combat arms troops still allows for age adjustments. That\u2019s a policy that\u2019s faced scrutiny in the past.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Critics have said that the age adjustments run counter to the intent of all combat arms fitness standards being uniform. But others counter that older combat arms troops \u2014 male or female \u2014 are more likely to be in leadership positions that pose fewer physical demands. <\/p>\n

National Guard and Reserve personnel will complete one annual fitness test, aligned to their combat or noncombat arms designation.<\/p>\n

For some military combat arms occupations, the Pentagon\u2019s recent policy continues the status quo. Special operations units such as Army Rangers or Navy SEALs, for example, had gender-neutral fitness standards already in place.<\/p>\n

The DOD report classifies 23 Army occupations as \u201ccombat arms\u201d \u2014 along with 19 in the Navy, 32 in the Marine Corps and eight in the Air Force. No Space Force jobs are listed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a service member who gives birth or experiences a miscarriage is exempt from fitness and body composition testing for a minimum of 12 months postpartum \u2014 and they may be granted additional time \u201cdue to medical circumstances after pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Postpartum troops serving in combat arms jobs must receive a medical evaluation and clearance before participating in sex-neutral fitness testing, according to the report.<\/p>\n

DOD secretary: \u2018Our troops will be fit \u2014 not fat\u2019<\/p>\n

Hegseth took to his X account last year to declare \u201cour troops will be fit \u2014 not fat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Defense secretary\u2019s aversion to chubby troops is reflected in the Pentagon\u2019s updated fitness policy. The body composition of all active-duty personnel will now be evaluated twice a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBody composition evaluations will align with medically validated, streamlined approaches, using height and waist circumference methods (waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)) to promote consistency and fairness across the Military Services,\u201d according to the DOD report.<\/p>\n

\u201cMilitary Services will set a goal for all service members for a WHtR of less than 0.55.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few examples: A 5-foot-10-inch man with a WHtR of .55 has a waist size of 38.5 inches. And a 5-foot-3-inch woman with a WHtR of .55 has a waist size of about 34.5 inches.<\/p>\n

Troops failing to meet service-specific fitness or body composition standards will be placed in remedial fitness programs. <\/p>\n

And there are consequences for being out of shape. The DOD policy warns that troops who fail to meet fitness standards could be passed over for promotions and even discharged from the military.<\/p>\n

Mandatory testosterone testing for troops 30-and-over<\/p>\n

The DOD\u2019s updated fitness policy comes weeks after Hegseth announced that he\u2019s implementing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency across the Armed Forces.<\/a><\/p>\n

The screening program for \u201cwarfighters ages 30 and older\u201d will ensure that all \u201chave the right testosterone levels to operate at their absolute best \u2014 because it\u2019s well-established science that as we age, testosterone levels naturally drop,\u201d he said on his X account.<\/p>\n

The mandatory testosterone deficiency test for 30-and-over military personnel will now be part of a service member\u2019s annual health assessment \u2014 although it\u2019s unclear if the testing is limited to males.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf treatment is recommended, it\u2019s entirely your choice to receive testosterone replacement therapy,\u201d said Hegseth. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis initiative, it\u2019s not about artificial enhancement. It\u2019s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pentagon policy has codified “sex neutral” physical fitness standards for troops in combat arms jobs.All military personnel will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843696,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97,5817,3125],"class_list":["post-843695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-news-division","tag-news-feed-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}