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The War Department showed off photos of War Secretary Pete Hegseth working out with U.S. troops stationed in Malaysia, vowing America’s soldiers will be “fit, not fat.”
“Secretary Hegseth joined our warriors for morning PT in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” the DOW’s rapid response account wrote on X. “From the top down, we will be FIT, NOT FAT!”
The images come just one month after Hegseth announced that all combat personnel would be required to meet the highest male physical standard to maintain their positions.
During the Sept. 30 presentation at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth called on the department to “restore a ruthless, dispassionate and commonsense application of standards.”
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War Secretary Pete Hegseth runs with troops in Malaysia. (@DOWResponse/X)
The secretary said that, as part of the new mandate, “every member of the joint force at every rank is required to take a test twice a year, as well as meet height and weight requirements twice a year, every year of service.” Additionally, members of the joint force will be required to do PT [physical training] every duty day, something Hegseth said is standard in many units but would be officially codified.
“If the secretary of war can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our joint force,” he said.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth exercises with troops one month after announcing new physical requirements for U.S. military personnel. (@DOWResponse/X)
HEGSETH INSTATES ‘HIGHEST MALE STANDARD ONLY’ FOR COMBAT, OTHER CHANGES, DECLARING DEPT OF DEFENSE ‘IS OVER’
Hegseth railed against “fat troops” and “fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” arguing that physical standards for American service members had eroded, and it was time to raise the bar.
In September, President Donald Trump issued an executive order turning the Department of Defense back into the Department of War. In the order, Trump said that the founders chose the department’s original name “to signal our strength and resolve to the world.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks to senior military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 30, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via Reuters)
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When Hegseth unveiled the new physical requirements, just weeks after Trump issued his order, the secretary declared “the era of the Department of Defense is over.”
“From this moment forward, the only mission of the newly restored Department of War is this: War fighting. Preparing for war and preparing to win,” Hegseth added.
In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon referred Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s social media posts and his speech at Quantico.
