Pete Hegseth Says the Military Will Screen Soldiers 30 and Up for Low Testosterone So They Stay on “The Leading Edge Of Lethality.”
by Jerome London · Thought CatalogUpdated 6 minutes ago, July 15, 2026
Every service member 30 and older will now get an annual testosterone check, and troops under 30 can opt in. Treatment, including testosterone replacement therapy, is voluntary.
The Pentagon will start offering testosterone deficiency screening to service members, with treatment aimed at “restoring and optimizing” what Hegseth called their natural capabilities. He announced it Wednesday in a video posted to X, framing it as part of a push for “elite medical care” and combat readiness.
The plan lands inside a wider fixation on the right. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the 72-year-old health secretary, has talked about injecting testosterone as part of an “anti-ageing regimen,” and last October claimed without evidence that American teenagers have “50% of the testosterone of a 65-year-old man.” Commentators like Tucker Carlson warn of a masculinity crisis while influencers push “T-maxxing” and direct-to-consumer injections.
The American Urological Association said it welcomed the attention but cautioned that low testosterone shouldn’t be diagnosed on a single blood test, and instead should rest on symptoms plus two separate tests. Research in Social Science & Medicine has found that screening young men for low testosterone is medically unwarranted in most cases.
Hegseth’s announcement didn’t mention the more than 231,000 women serving on active duty.
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