US War Secretary Hegseth issues controversial 10-point military standards plan

In an unusual meeting with hundreds of senior military officials, the United States (U.S.) Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth laid down his vision for the standards he wants the U.S. military to meet.

He laid down his vision for how the U.S. military should look and act, a 10-point policy he called ‘the right standards’, adding, “If you don’t agree, resign.”

He said that his vision put an end to the woke policies of the previous administrations.

Following are some of the key points from his speech:

Hegseth said he won’t tolerate any fat troops, fat generals or fat admirals in the halls of the pentagon.

The Secretary of War added that no beards are allowed, all troops will have to clean shaven, adding, “Only a few exceptions will be offered on medical and religious grounds.”

In an apparently major blow to women, he announced only male physical standards for the combat jobs, stating, “If it means no women in those roles then it is what it is.”

This reverses more than a decade of efforts by previous administrations to diversify the military.

For context, the combat jobs were opened to women in the US in 2015 under Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, who said at that time, “We cannot afford to cut ourselves off from half the country’s talents and skills.”

Hegseth asked troops to ignore the “stupid” rules of engagement that guide the use of force by US military, adding that words like "harassment", “hazing” and “bullying” have been weaponised and “we are correcting that as well”.