Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of medical standards for military enlistment to ensure safety and readiness. He stated that, “Applicants for military service must be physically and mentally able to perform their duties under the harshest of conditions”.
Concerns from the military community about the fitness of troops have prompted this review, focusing on medical waivers related to conditions like schizophrenia and heart failure, as well as the standards affecting physical fitness and grooming.
Hegseth emphasized the need for high, uncompromising standards to ensure military readiness and effectiveness, promoting readiness and lethality as key goals.
The review will examine how changes to standards since 2015 have impacted military readiness, allowing 30 days for Pentagon officials to assess the criteria and propose updates.
