Hegseth orders review of US military standards, including grooming, after they were loosened under Biden

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday ordered a Pentagon-wide review of the physical fitness, body composition and grooming standards currently in place in the armed forces. 

Hegseth’s directive comes after the Biden administration loosened restrictions on various grooming and hairstyle rules for military service members, as well as body fat percentage requirements for new recruits. 

“High standards are what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet,” Hegseth wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leaders, commanders of the combatant commands and Department of Defense field activity directors. 

“The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose,” the defense secretary added. “We are made stronger and more disciplined with high, uncompromising, and clear standards.”

The review will be conducted by the Pentagon’s under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness and will examine the “existing standards set by the Military Departments pertaining to physical fitness, body composition, and grooming, which includes but is not limited to beards,” as well as how those standards have changed over the last decade. 

“The review will also provide insight on why those standards changed and the impact of those changes,” Hegseth said. “The USD(P&R) has the authority to task the Secretaries of the Military Departments and other DoD Component heads as necessary to provide any required information in support of this review and will provide detailed guidance to the Military Departments.”

“We 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,” the Pentagon chief continued. “Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging.” 

“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.”

Each branch of the military sets its own standards for physical fitness and body composition and has mandatory instructions on the type of haircuts and facial hair service members are permitted to maintain. 

For example, beards are generally banned from armed services unless members receive a medical exemption or religious accommodation.   

Under the Biden administration, the Army relaxed various grooming standards  – including allowing women to wear earrings and have hair highlights and dyes, and allowing men to wear nail polish – in an effort to be “more diverse” and “inclusive.” 

The Air Force, also during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, permitted new male recruits to have up to 26% body fat, up from the previous requirement of 20%, while females were allowed 36% body fat, up from the previous max of 28%. 

During a town hall event for Pentagon employees last month, Hegseth noted that under the Trump administration the DOD would renew its focus on “basic stuff,” like grooming and fitness standards. 

“I’m not saying if you violate grooming standards, you’re a criminal,” Hegseth said. “The analogy is incomplete. But if you violate the small stuff and you allow it to happen, it creates a culture where the big stuff, you’re not held accountable for.”

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