Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video message Wednesday that because the US military needs its warfighters to be in peak physical fitness, a new screening program is being set up to check troop testosterone levels.
“While we invest heavily in our weapons systems, platforms, and gear, our most decisive tactical advantage will always be the individual warfighter,” Hegseth said in a video titled “The High-T Department of War” posted to X.
He said “we must constantly look for new ways to optimize your performance, your resilience, and your long-term health.”
Under the new policy, troops 30 and older will automatically receive testosterone deficiency screenings during their periodic health assessments, the secretary said, citing testosterone’s natural decline with age. Troops younger than 30 can choose to have their testosterone measured voluntarily. Receiving any recommended treatment for those found to have low testosterone levels will also be voluntary.
“This initiative, it’s not about artificial enhancement,” Hegseth explained. “It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight.”
An estimated 2% of American men experience low testosterone, according to the American Urology Care Foundation; the condition is most prevalent in older men. Women can also experience low testosterone, though there is no firm metric for measuring women’s levels, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Symptoms of low testosterone can include depression, low libido, irritability, and loss of muscle mass. Other studies have shown significant declines in testosterone for men outside the US too — the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology estimates that decline to be as high as 54%, measured between 1972 and 2019.
Some military communities have faced proven struggles with testosterone, including those in special operations, where troops often have to contend with the more pronounced physical effects of service. Lack of sleep, chronic stress, and obesity — issues the entire military faces — can lead to or exacerbate low testosterone.
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act directed the Department of Defense to provide a briefing to Congress on medical interventions available in the military health system for the treatment of low testosterone, current protocols for testing and screening of low testosterone in the military, and how high-stress operating environments may be linked to low testosterone within the military.
The hormone has taken on new significance under the Trump administration. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is a testosterone advocate and uses testosterone replacement therapy himself.
In June, the Department of Health and Human Services sought to revise the labels on testosterone replacement therapies for men, which could expand access for those seeking TRT. However, those changes would include removing a statement acknowledging that the safety and efficacy of testosterone replacement therapy have not been established in men with age-related low testosterone, and other statements related to prostate cancer.
“As we know, the modern battlefield is brutal and unrelenting. It requires and demands maximum psychological and mental readiness. And by addressing these health markers early, we’re keeping you on the leading edge of lethality,” Hegseth said in his video Wednesday.
Periodic health assessments, or PHAs, typically aren’t comprehensive examinations and do not routinely measure testosterone levels. Instead, questionnaires reviewed by healthcare providers allow patients to self-report symptoms or health concerns that may warrant further evaluation.
Research published earlier this year in the Military Medicine journal highlighted concerns with these assessments, saying that “a significant portion of PHAs may be primarily administrative, failing to identify new health issues.”
Hegseth did not provide details on how testosterone levels would be screened, such as through a blood draw or questionnaire, how treatments could be provided and tracked, or whether the screening could apply to women too.
