An Army Command Assessment Program candidate throws a weighted ball during a fitness test in 2023 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The Pentagon will reform its fitness and grooming standards in line with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's vision for a fitter, clean-shaven military, according to policy documents published online.

Hegseth, who prefers his secondary title of Secretary of War, announced the moves in a Sept. 30 policy speech to the assembled generals and admirals in an auditorium aboard Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. He denounced "fat generals" when announcing the policy changes.

According to the policy memos, fitness tests will increase in frequency and intensity for active duty troops, who must now pass twice-yearly tests. Military members will also have their body fat measured twice per year.

Troops with combat-focused jobs, such as infantrymen or tank crew members, must meet male-based test standards in their annual general fitness test, and they must also complete a "combat field test" once yearly.

Hegseth, who has long argued that women benefited from lowered fitness standards when they entered combat arms jobs during former President Barack Obama's administration, said the move "is not about preventing women from serving."

The Secretary of War also decried shaving waivers that allowed troops with medical conditions or religious exemptions to grow beards, labeling such servicemembers as "beardos."

The implementation memo specifies that the Pentagon "will revert to pre-2020 standards" for medical shaving exemptions, meaning that troops can no longer receive permanent shaving waivers to prevent flare-ups of painful skin conditions, such as pseudofolliculitis barbae.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hegseth announces reforms to Pentagon's grooming and fitness standards

Reporting by Davis Winkie, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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