In a significant policy shift, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Sunday that the Department of Defense will implement identical physical fitness standards for men and women serving in combat positions.
Hegseth made the announcement while returning from Tacoma, where he had been meeting with troops and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. In a video message, he revealed a new memorandum establishing the change.
“For far too long, we allowed standards to slip and different standards for men and women in combat arms MOSs and jobs,”
Hegseth stated in the video.
“That’s not acceptable. We need to have the same standard, male or female, in our combat roles to ensure our men and women who are under our leaders or in those formations have the best possible leaders and the highest possible standards that are not based at all on your sex.”
The policy change represents a major evolution in military fitness requirements. Since 2013, when the ban on women in combat roles was lifted during the Obama administration, different physical standards have remained in place for men and women in many military positions, though elite units like Army Rangers, Green Berets, and Navy SEALs have maintained equal standards.
According to a social media post from Hegseth‘s account,
“Different physical standards for men and women in the U.S. military have existed for a long time. BUT, there were also combat roles that were male-only. Then, under Obama, all combat roles were opened to men AND women. BUT, different physical fitness standards for men and women remained.”
The post continued,
“Today at @DeptofDefense — we fix this. All combat roles are open to men and women BUT they must all meet the same, high standard. No standards will be lowered AND all combat roles will only have sex-neutral standards. Common sense.”
Under the new directive, military services will review current standards and implement uniform requirements regardless of gender. Hegseth emphasized that no existing standards would be lowered in the process.
The change could potentially impact the composition of combat units across the military. As of late 2022, women comprised approximately 17.5 percent of active-duty forces, according to Defense Department data.
This policy shift aligns with practices in some other nations, such as Norway and Sweden, which have moved toward uniform fitness standards for all service members regardless of gender. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, China, and Russia, have historically maintained different physical requirements for male and female military personnel.
The services now face the task of reviewing and implementing the new standards within the timeframe established by the Secretary’s directive, while also determining clear definitions of which roles qualify as combat positions.
