Defense Secretary Orders Review of Military Fitness Standards Since 2015
Washington – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the military to conduct a comprehensive review of its fitness standards, focusing on changes implemented since 2015. This was the year the military formally opened all positions, including combat roles, to women. The review encompasses physical fitness benchmarks, body composition requirements, and grooming policies, including the existing restrictions on beards, which are generally disallowed except for religious exemptions.
According to a memo issued by Hegseth on Wednesday, the review aims to understand the rationale behind any changes to these standards and to evaluate their impact on military readiness and effectiveness.
“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, emphasizing the importance of rigorous standards. The Defense Department has declined to provide further comment on the matter.
The review will specifically focus on changes implemented after January 1, 2015. In December of that year, the military officially removed all remaining barriers to women serving in combat roles, allowing female service members to take on positions previously restricted to men. The first women began transitioning into these roles the following year.
Hegseth has publicly stated his commitment to restoring the military’s combat readiness. He has also accused past leaders of relaxing physical fitness standards in the pursuit of diversity and inclusion. This stance has drawn scrutiny, particularly given his past comments on women in combat roles.
Prior to his narrow Senate confirmation in January, Hegseth faced intense questioning about his previous statements suggesting that women should not serve in combat. However, shortly before his nomination by President Trump, he seemingly reversed his position.
This abrupt shift raised concerns among women veterans and lawmakers, who feared that it was a strategic maneuver to secure Senate votes. They worried that, once confirmed, Hegseth would take steps to exclude women from combat roles.
Lory Manning, a retired Navy captain who formerly oversaw a project on women in the military at the Women’s Research and Education Institute, expressed concerns about Hegseth’s intentions. "Hegseth is grabbing whatever he can to get women out of combat," she stated. "He’s chasing a particular thing that he wants to prove."
The Army revised its primary physical fitness test in 2022, aiming for a more gender-neutral scoring system that focused on age. However, a RAND Corporation report revealed that while men’s passing rates remained consistent, women’s rates experienced a significant decline under the new system. The report suggested that a gender-neutral scoring scale could negatively affect recruiting and retention rates for certain military occupations.
In response to these findings, the Army subsequently adopted an age- and gender-normed scoring scale, taking into account the differing physical capabilities of men and women.
Despite this adjustment, a separate study concluded that the test’s disproportionate emphasis on brute strength continued to disadvantage women while effectively lowering standards for men. Amy Forza, the author of the study, argued that "its implementation suggests a deliberate move to preserve male dominance in the military’s most elite ranks."
Women aspiring to join the military’s most physically demanding positions face standards that are just as rigorous as those for men. The first woman successfully completed training to become an Army Green Beret in 2020. However, to date, no woman has become a Navy SEAL.
In addition to the military services’ overarching physical fitness standards, there are also occupational standards tailored to the specific requirements of each position. A provision of the 1994 defense policy bill mandated that these occupational standards be gender neutral.
Manning argues that raising physical fitness standards without considering occupational differences is illogical. She points out that an experienced military surgeon in their 50s or 60s should not be held to the same physical standards as a young infantry soldier.
"What women or anybody in the infantry has to be able to do physically is way, way harder than what an orthopedic surgeon has to do," she explained. "You want them to be a good surgeon, not a good cliff climber."
Women currently comprise approximately 17% of the military’s 2 million service members. Non-combat roles were opened to women in 1994 after Congress rescinded the 1988 "risk rule," which had barred women from positions where they could be exposed to combat, live fire, or capture.
Military historians note that women have served in the military since the nation’s founding and have been captured, killed, and wounded in battle, even when officially barred from combat roles.
Hegseth’s review of military fitness standards will likely reignite the debate over the role of women in the military and the potential impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives on combat readiness. The findings of the review could have significant implications for the future of military personnel policies and the integration of women into all branches of service.
