In a powerful move to uphold fairness and equality, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a military transformation as he wants to ensure identical physical fitness standards for men and women in military combat roles.
The Trump-appointed cabinet member signed a memo that reverses Obama-era policies that allowed different standards based on gender.
Hegseth’s memorandum mandates uniform physical fitness requirements regardless of sex for all military combat positions.
The directive gives military departments 60 days to develop comprehensive plans distinguishing combat arms occupations from non-combat arms roles, with standards based solely on operational demands rather than gender considerations.
The policy change addresses concerns that have grown since 2016 when combat roles were opened to women without ensuring equal physical standards.
Under previous administrations, approximately 4,800 women entered Army infantry, armor, and artillery positions while critics argued they were held to lower physical requirements than their male counterparts.
In announcing the new standards, Hegseth did not mince words about the damage done by progressive policies.
“For far too long, we allowed standards to slip, and different standards for men and women in combat arms MOS’s and jobs. That’s not acceptable,” Hegseth affirmed.
“We need to have the same standards – male or female – in our combat roles to ensure our men and women who are under our leaders and in those formations have the best possible leaders and the highest possible standards that are not based at all on your sex,” he added.
The review will evaluate physical fitness, body composition, and grooming standards across all branches.
Moreover, the Army is already considering changes to its Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), which has been criticized for having low baseline requirements that compromise combat readiness.
Conservative military advocacy groups have long demanded this change, arguing that different standards based on gender jeopardize mission success and put service members at risk.
The memo also aligns with recent Pentagon directives to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have diverted focus from combat readiness to social experimentation.
Even some female military leaders have welcomed the change. Command Sargeant Major JoAnn Naumann previously expressed frustration with lower standards for women saying, “Quite frankly, as a 50-year-old woman, I’m insulted that they think I need [12] minutes to run a mile.”
This sentiment reflects many service members’ desires to be judged on merit rather than given special treatment.
Beyond fitness standards, Secretary Hegseth is also strengthening America’s strategic position abroad.
He announced plans to upgrade the U.S. military command in Japan to counter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
This comprehensive approach to military readiness shows the administration’s commitment to peace through strength rather than appeasement or social engineering experiments that weaken the defenses.
