January 1, Hegseth Orders Tough Combat Standards Return

Wyatt’s Take

• All combat troops must now meet the toughest male standards.
• New grooming rules and fitness tests aim to rebuild military strength.
• No more woke policies—Hegseth says warfighters come first.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is bringing back serious standards. Now, every combat member must hit the highest male benchmark to keep their job.

Hegseth said the military needs to “restore a ruthless, dispassionate and commonsense application of standards.” He made it clear: “We’re training warriors, not defenders. We fight wars to win, not to defend.”

He also stated, “We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don’t fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for warfighters.” Every member now takes fitness and body measurement tests every six months, and daily exercise will be standard.

Hegseth spoke out against “fat troops” and “fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” insisting standards had eroded and needed fixing. He wants physical standards to match pre-2015 rules for all, no matter gender or race.

He said, “This is not about preventing women from serving. We very much value the impact of female troops. Our female officers and NCOs are the absolute best in the world. But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender-neutral. If women can make it, excellent. If not, it is what it is.” Hegseth stressed, “That is not the intent, but it could be the result, so be it. It will also mean that weak men won’t qualify because we’re not playing games. This is combat. This is life or death.”

Grooming standards are stiff, too: beards are out unless you’re Special Forces or have a waiver, and everyone’s expected to have a clean haircut. Hegseth said, “We’re going to cut our hair, shave our beards and adhere to standards. Because it’s like the broken windows theory of policing, it’s like when you let the small stuff go, the big stuff eventually goes. If you want a beard, you can join Special Forces. If not, then shave.”

The new rules also sweep out woke policies. No more DEI offices, identity months, or “climate change worship.” Hegseth said, “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions… we are done with that s—.” Leadership mistakes will be handled with a more practical eye, giving second chances under the new order.

These changes are meant to make America’s military deadly and united again.

Read more at Fox News

Wyatt Matters

For regular folks in Middle America, these changes say one thing: real strength matters, not politics. When the nation’s safety is on the line, our people need a military built for victory, not headlines or quotas.