Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is taking decisive action to restore discipline and readiness in the U.S. military. On Wednesday, Hegseth ordered a department-wide review of physical fitness, body composition, and grooming standards for each military branch—marking a significant step toward reversing the erosion of military effectiveness seen in recent years.
Restoring a Culture of Excellence
In a March 12, 2025, memorandum obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, Hegseth emphasized the importance of maintaining the highest standards for America’s fighting forces.
“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 stated in the memo.
He added, “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.”
The review will specifically assess how standards have changed over the last decade, since January 1, 2015, why they changed, and what impact those changes have had on overall military readiness and effectiveness.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot reinforced Hegseth’s commitment to undoing the damage done in recent years, particularly under former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley.
“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,” Ullyot stated.
Hegseth directed the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) to compile and analyze all existing standards, providing a clear picture of how they have evolved and whether those changes have positively or negatively impacted the military’s effectiveness.
At his January confirmation hearing, Hegseth made it clear that returning the military to its core mission—warfighting—is his top priority.
“Ensuring that standards are equal and high is of great importance to me,” he told Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). “Because in those ground combat roles, what is true is that the weight of the ruck on your back does not change. The weight of the 155mm round that you have to carry does not change. The weight of the 240-Bravo machine gun you might have to carry does not change.”
Hegseth also rejected politically motivated alterations to fitness standards, such as quotas based on gender or race, calling them a distraction from what truly matters: combat effectiveness.
“In any place where those things have been eroded or in course criteria have been changed in order to meet quotas—racial quotas or gender quotas—that is putting a focus on something other than readiness, standards, meritocracy, and lethality,” he asserted.
Hegseth has been vocal in his support for gender-neutral fitness standards, ensuring that all service members are held to the same expectations based on the requirements of their job—not on political considerations.
“The standards need to be the same, and they need to be high,” he emphasized. “And they need to be set by the people closest to the problem, closest to the understanding of what is required by that job.”
This commitment aligns with his broader mission of eliminating ideological interference in military decision-making. “No other set of political prerogatives—when I talk about removing politics, ideological or political prerogatives—should contribute to those determinations. Nothing other than the execution of the mission.”
Since taking office, Hegseth has not only talked about the importance of fitness but has demonstrated it firsthand. During a recent trip to Germany, he conducted physical training (PT) alongside members of the 10th Special Forces Group. The photos of Hegseth working out with elite soldiers quickly went viral, sending a strong message about his leadership style.
With this military-wide review, Hegseth is making it clear: The days of weakening standards to accommodate political agendas are over. The U.S. military is being put back on track, prioritizing strength, readiness, and excellence above all else.
Stay tuned for further updates as the review unfolds.
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something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me.
I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the
hang of it!