Pentagon codifies new fitness standards: combat arms held to male-based standards, effective Aug 2026

The Pentagon has codified major changes to military fitness requirements, some of which were originally ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last fall. The new regulations, published on August 31, establish testing timelines, standards for troops in combat arms specialties, guidelines for pregnancy and postpartum fitness, and tracking mechanisms for testing results across all service branches.

The policy consolidates directives issued throughout 2025 into a unified set of standards. Key provisions include:

• Commanders must allow time for physical fitness every duty day.
• Troops in jobs designated as "combat arms" must be held to male fitness standards on regular fitness tests.

Many of these changes are already being implemented across the services. In March 2025, Hegseth ordered the services to identify their combat-arms specialties and develop sex-neutral, mission-related physical standards.

Hegseth has publicly criticized "fat troops" and "fat generals," and pledged to return combat arms jobs to "the highest male standard only."

These changes have coincided with a Pentagon review of women serving in front-line roles. In December, the Pentagon's personnel chief, Anthony Tata, announced a study on the effectiveness of integrating ground combat units, raising concerns among some that it could be used to justify restricting women from combat positions.

Critics have questioned the study's independence after it was transferred from the Institute for Defense Analyses to Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory and placed under a researcher involved in a controversial 2015 study that Hegseth has cited to argue against women serving in combat jobs.

The new document replaces the Pentagon's 2022 fitness policy.

Fitness Tests

• Active duty troops are required to take two fitness tests per year.
• National Guard and Reserve members will take one test per year.
• Active-duty service members will take their service's regular fitness test and a second assessment measuring combat readiness.
• Troops in combat arms jobs must take a Combat Field Test (CFT).
• Troops outside combat arms specialties will take a Combat Readiness Test (CRT). Services may use a regular fitness test in place of a CRT.

The regulations identify more than 80 occupations as combat arms across the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, including infantry, armor, artillery, some engineering jobs, and special forces roles. No Space Force jobs are listed.

• Combat arms troops will be held to male-based standards on their regular service tests and must score an average of 70% across events.
• Non-combat roles will use sex- and age-based scoring.
• Each service is responsible for developing its own CFTs that meet Pentagon standards.

Body Composition

• Active-duty troops will undergo body composition testing twice annually.
• National Guard and Reserve members will be tested once per year.
• All service members must meet a waist-to-height ratio of less than 0.55, calculated by dividing waist circumference by height.
• Troops who exceed that standard will be subject to a service-specific body fat assessment.
• Those who fail the assessment will be enrolled in a remedial program to meet benchmarks.
• Branches may set stricter requirements.

The body composition policy also provides a minimum 12-month exemption from fitness and body composition testing after childbirth, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Postpartum troops may receive additional time exemptions based on input from a healthcare provider.

Accountability and Tracking

The policy makes commanders responsible for ensuring troops have time to stay fit. Leadership "will allow such members to perform physical fitness training every duty day," the regulation states, except when mission requirements dictate otherwise.

Starting June 1, 2027, each service must submit a report on its fitness and body composition programs to the Pentagon. The data must enable officials to analyze results by sex, age, race, ethnicity, rank, and military occupation.