Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sent a letter to senior Pentagon officials this week ordering a review of the military’s fitness and grooming standards.
And, yes — beards are on the table.
“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,” Hegseth said.
“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,” he added.
Hegseth has vowed to eliminate “woke” policies in the military and bring back the warrior ethos.
“Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear,” he said in a Jan. 25 memo to service members. “The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose.”
“We will revive the warrior ethos and restore trust in our military. We are American warriors. We will defend our country. Our standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military is our unity and our shared purpose,” Hegseth’s Jan. 25 memo added.
“We will rebuild our military by matching threats to capabilities. This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the world.”
Hegseth announced the fitness and grooming standards review on X saying, “Our troops will be fit — not fat. Our troops will look sharp — not sloppy. We seek only quality — not quotas.”
Since Donald Trump won in November, the U.S. Military has seen a significant surge of enlistments.
