Pentagon: Male, female troops must pass identical fitness tests to serve in ‘combat arms’ jobs

Combat’s physical demands are no respecter of gender — so the fitness standards for troops in front-line positions must be the same for males and females.

That’s the long-held opinion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — and one now codified by the Pentagon.

A recent Defense Department policy formally establishes “sex-neutral” physical fitness standards for troops across the Armed Forces assigned to military occupations classified as “combat arms.”

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.

The 22-page DOD “Physical Fitness/Body Composition Program” 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.

The policy replaces the DOD’s 2022 fitness program.

The Pentagon’s fitness report also follows Hegseth’s 2025 memo directing his department to conduct a review of physical fitness standards across the ranks, “and how they have changed since Jan. 1, 2015.”

The year specified in the memo — 2015 — 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.

During his Senate confirmation hearing last year, Hegseth was grilled on his past comments regarding women in the military.

In one appearance on Fox News in 2013, the Deseret News reported, Hegseth said women don’t measure up to men in the military, and that women shouldn’t be allowed to serve in combat roles because it forces the military to lower the bar.

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.

Now all fitness standards for “combat arms” personnel are sex-neutral.

Biannual fitness tests across the ranks

The recent Pentagon report also directed all active-duty military members — regardless of occupation — to take part in fitness evaluations twice a year.

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.

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 “sex-neutral” — and all will be required to score an average of 70% across all testing elements of the service-specific fitness test.

The fitness test for combat arms troops still allows for age adjustments. That’s a policy that’s faced scrutiny in the past.

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 — male or female — are more likely to be in leadership positions that pose fewer physical demands.

National Guard and Reserve personnel will complete one annual fitness test, aligned to their combat or noncombat arms designation.

For some military combat arms occupations, the Pentagon’s 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.

The DOD report classifies 23 Army occupations as “combat arms” — along with 19 in the Navy, 32 in the Marine Corps and eight in the Air Force. No Space Force jobs are listed.

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 — and they may be granted additional time “due to medical circumstances after pregnancy.”

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.

DOD secretary: ‘Our troops will be fit — not fat’

Hegseth took to his X account last year to declare “our troops will be fit — not fat.”

The Defense secretary’s aversion to chubby troops is reflected in the Pentagon’s updated fitness policy. The body composition of all active-duty personnel will now be evaluated twice a year.

“Body 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,” according to the DOD report.

“Military Services will set a goal for all service members for a WHtR of less than 0.55.”

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.

Troops failing to meet service-specific fitness or body composition standards will be placed in remedial fitness programs.

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.

Mandatory testosterone testing for troops 30-and-over

The DOD’s updated fitness policy comes weeks after Hegseth announced that he’s implementing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency across the Armed Forces.

The screening program for “warfighters ages 30 and older” will ensure that all “have the right testosterone levels to operate at their absolute best — because it’s well-established science that as we age, testosterone levels naturally drop,” he said on his X account.

The mandatory testosterone deficiency test for 30-and-over military personnel will now be part of a service member’s annual health assessment — although it’s unclear if the testing is limited to males.

“If treatment is recommended, it’s entirely your choice to receive testosterone replacement therapy,” said Hegseth.

“This initiative, it’s not about artificial enhancement. It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”