Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called for a review of the military’s fitness and grooming standards after such policies were loosened under the Biden administration.
“High standards are what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose. We are made stronger and more disciplined with high, uncompromising, and clear standards,” Hegseth wrote in a Wednesday memo.
“I am directing the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) to gather the existing standards set by the Military Departments pertaining to physical fitness, body composition, and grooming, which includes but is not limited to beards,” he wrote, adding that the military must “remain vigilant in maintaining the standards that enable the men and women of our military to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’ s most lethal and effective fighting force.”
“Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging,” the memo read. “This review will illuminate how the Department has maintained the level of standards required over the recent past and the trajectory of any change in those standards.”
Under the Biden administration, those in the Army were permitted to wear earrings, have hair highlights, and wear nail polish, the New York Post reported. New male recruits in the Air Force were allowed to have up to 26% body fat, up from 20%. Female recruits were permitted to have up to 36% body fat, up from 28%.
