SEPTEMBER 30, 2025 – Physical fitness and combat training standards will be raised, said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who spoke today to an audience of hundreds of generals, admirals and senior enlisted personnel at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
Those same standards will apply to both genders, he said, be it for the combat fitness test or weapons qualification.
Every active component service member will be required to exercise vigorously every duty day and take two physical fitness tests annually, he said.
In a memorandum Hegseth signed today, “Military Fitness Standards,” he wrote that National Guard and reserve component service members will take personal responsibility to maintain an appropriate physical fitness regimen, regardless of duty status, and complete one fitness test annually, aligned with their combat or noncombat arms designation.
Overweight troops and their leaders will no longer be tolerated, Hegseth said.
“It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon, leading commands around the country [and] in the world,” he said.
Hegseth also spoke about beards in the military.
“If you want a beard, you can join special forces. If not, then shave. We don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans,” the secretary said.
In another memo, “Grooming Standards for Facial Hair Implementation,” Hegseth signed today, he wrote that all personnel must maintain a clean-shaven face consistent with the following:
- Sideburns will be above the ear opening.
- Beards, goatees, and other facial hair are prohibited unless specifically authorized.
- Mustaches are authorized but will be neatly trimmed; not to extend past the mouth corners or into a respirator seal zone.
“Leading warfighters toward the goals of high, gender-neutral and uncompromising standards in order to forge a cohesive, formidable and lethal Department of War is not toxic. It is our duty, consistent with our constitutional oath,” he said.
By David Vergun
Pentagon News