When it comes to the military’s physical fitness standards, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hasn’t minced words.
The Pentagon chief responded tersely after a viral backlash to a photo of a group of overweight Texas National Guard troops headed to Chicago.
"Standards are back," the Pentagon chief posted. He sent the troops home from their Chicago mission.
Hegseth has made fitness a major focus since taking over the Defense Department, pushing initiatives such as gender-neutral standards for combat jobs and a new annual "combat field test."
But the department has long struggled to provide fitness resources to National Guard troops and other reservists akin to those available to active duty members of the military.
