Hegseth pushes unified combat standards for men and women in military

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is directing the military services to establish uniform combat arms standards for men and women. In a newly released social media video, Hegseth announced that he is signing a memorandum to ensure equal standards.
• The move aims to eliminate gender-based differences in combat roles and promote a single, high standard for all service members.
• The Pentagon will review and update its policies to ensure compliance with the new directive.

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The Pentagon launched a force-wide review of physical fitness, grooming and appearance policies on March 12. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the review to examine changes made since 2015, when the military opened all combat roles to women. The effort includes standards on body composition and grooming, such as beard policies, and aims to understand why changes were made and how they’ve impacted readiness.

He directed the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness to collect data from all military branches and assess the trajectory of those changes.

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What is Hegseth’s position?

Hegseth has long opposed gender-based differences in combat roles, arguing that standards should be equal for men and women. In a video message, he said the military must uphold one high standard for all service members in combat arms, regardless of sex.

For far too long, we have allowed standards to slip. We’ve had different standards for men/women serving in combat arms MOS’s and jobs….

That’s not acceptable, and it changes right now! pic.twitter.com/Zn9OyBew6G

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 31, 2025

“For far too long, we allowed standards to slip,” Hegseth said. “We need to have the same standard — male or female — in our combat roles, to ensure our men and women who are under our leaders or in those formations, had the best possible leaders and the highest possible standards that are not based at all on your sex, if you’re a man or a woman.”

This push builds on Hegseth’s January directive to rebuild the military, restore a warrior ethos and reestablish deterrence.

How might this affect troops?

Each service currently runs its own fitness test, with benchmarks that vary by age and gender. More demanding standards apply to specialized combat roles, which are already gender- and age-neutral.

Hegseth’s effort could change how general fitness is evaluated, potentially replacing age- and gender-adjusted scoring with a uniform set of requirements. Military leaders warn that such a shift could affect recruitment and retention if not implemented gradually.

It’s unclear whether Hegseth will mandate identical tests across services or set a universal baseline with room for service-specific additions.

What standards are in place now?

The Army and Marine Corps run the most extensive tests, including exercises designed to reflect battlefield conditions. The Air Force and Navy use a mix of traditional running and alternative cardio options. Most services have moved from sit-ups to planks, allowing medical or operational substitutions.

Specialized roles such as Army Rangers or Navy SEALs already require uniform, rigorous standards, with no adjustments for age or gender.

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What’s next?

The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness will lead the review and can request data or analysis from service branches. Hegseth hasn’t set a public timeline for decisions but said changes are coming.

“We will have nothing but the highest and equal standards for men and women in combat,” he said.