From hairstyles to body fat: US Defence Secy Pete Hegseth orders review on Biden’s relaxed military standards

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a comprehensive review of “military fitness, body composition and grooming” across all the US armed forces on Wednesday (Mar 12).

The directive comes after the Biden administration loosened restrictions on various rules, including grooming and hairstyle for military service members. This also includes body fat percentage standards for new recruits.

'High standards make US military greatest'

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In the Department of Defence memo, Hegseth wrote, “High standards are what made the United States military the greatest fighting force on the planet.”

The review, conducted by the Pentagon under secretary of defence, will inspect the “existing standards set by the Military Departments pertaining to physical fitness, body composition, and grooming, which includes but is not limited to beards.” It will also examine how these standards have changed over the past decade.

“The review will also provide insight on why those standards changed and the impact of those changes,” the defence secretary added.

He further said, “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.”

“Our adversaries are not growing weaker, and our tasks are not growing less challenging,” he noted. “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.”

Military standards

Each branch of the US military has its own standards for physical fitness and body composition. They also have guidelines for the type of haircuts and facial hair the service members are allowed to maintain.

Generally, service members are banned from keeping beards unless they have a medical or religious exemption.

Under the Biden administration, the grooming standards in the army were relaxed. As part of an effort to be “more diverse” and “inclusive”, women were permitted to wear earrings and dye their hair, while men could wear nail polish.

The Biden administration also raised the permitted body fat in the US Air Force allowed for new recruits form 20 per cent to 26 per cent for males and from 28 per cent to 36 per cent for females.

Last month, Hegseth said that the department would now renew its focus on “basic stuff” such as fitness and grooming under the Trump administration.

“I’m not saying if you violate grooming standards, you’re a criminal,” he 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.”

(With inputs from agencies)