Secretary of Defense Hegseth Orders Military Medical Standards Review

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has officially ordered a full-spectrum review of the U.S. military’s medical standards for enlistment. In a memo circulated in late April, Hegseth called for a detailed assessment of how physical fitness, body composition, and grooming requirements have shifted since 2015—and whether those changes have made the force stronger or simply more politically correct.

For those of us who have worn the uniform, it’s clear: readiness and lethality—not political agendas—must be the military’s north star. This review has been years overdue. and is necessary to strengthen the fighting force. 

The Review: Focusing the Military Back on Lethality

Hegseth’s directive tasks the services with examining how and why the standards evolved over the last decade. He demands an honest accounting: Did lowering the bar actually improve readiness, or did it simply open the door to people who wouldn’t have made it past the front gate before?

The Secretary made his position clear: “The Department must maintain high, uncompromising, and clear standards to build a more lethal force,” he wrote in the memo obtained by SOFREP at Defense.gov.

Physical fitness, mental resilience, and strict grooming requirements aren’t artifacts of a bygone era—they’re essential traits of any military worth its salt. Hegseth is demanding that commanders ask the hard question: Are we still recruiting warriors, or are we chasing woke checkboxes?

Course-Correcting After a Decade of Decline

Since 2015, a steady stream of politically-driven changes flooded into the military. Standards were loosened to allow for everything from more “inclusive” grooming policies to so-called gender-neutral physical fitness tests that quietly, and predictably, lowered physical expectations for many units.

This wasn’t about building a tougher force. It was about making the ranks look good on paper to the prevailing political class. Under the previous leadership, policies were crafted with the media cycle in mind—not battlefield victory.

One striking example is the Army’s combat fitness test debacle, where scoring adjustments were made after female pass rates lagged behind. Instead of holding the line on what it takes to survive and win in combat, leadership caved to activists who’ve never had to haul a buddy to a CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) bird under fire.

Critics Cry “Discrimination”—But the Mission Comes First

Predictably, the usual suspects are already howling. Civil rights groups are claiming this review is a covert effort to roll back diversity initiatives. Major outlets like The Guardian and CBS News are wringing their hands, warning of a mass exodus of “marginalized” recruits.

But here’s the bottom line: the military’s purpose is to fight and win the nation’s wars, not to serve as a petri dish for social experimentation. The battlefield is an ugly, brutal place that doesn’t care about your pronouns or personal identity. It cares how long you can carry a ruck, if you can fix a jammed weapon under fire, or fight through exhaustion.

The military isn’t supposed to mirror society. It’s supposed to be better than society—tougher, sharper, more lethal.

Recruitment Challenges: Quality Over Quantity

The services had been struggling to meet recruiting goals. For the first time in years, that is starting to turn around. The solution wasn’t to lower standards and hope for the best. It was to make military service a mark of distinction again. And Pete Hegseth is going just that. 

Raising the bar—not lowering it—is how you inspire America’s best young men and women to step up and reach their full potential. It’s how you rebuild a warrior culture that prizes excellence over equity checklists. Hegseth understands this in his bones, and he’s willing to take the heat to get it done.

We don’t need bodies in uniform for the sake of numbers. We need warfighters.

Final Thoughts: A Step Toward Strength

Secretary Hegseth’s review is a long-overdue move to reorient the military toward what it’s supposed to be: a lethal, professional force ready to defend the nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

It’s not about turning back the clock. It’s about rediscovering the hard truths that have kept American warriors victorious (most of the time) for over two centuries: Discipline matters. Strength matters. Standards matter.

And if that makes the politically correct crowd squirm? Good. Let them. America’s enemies certainly won’t care how inclusive our platoons are when the shooting starts.