They’re gonna be put to the check(es).
US troops 30 or older should examine their testosterone ranges yearly to make sure army readiness and maintain them on “the vanguard of lethality,” Division of Struggle Secretary Pete Hegseth introduced Wednesday.
The Pentagon may even supply testosterone substitute remedy, Hegseth stated.
“I’m authorizing a brand new screening program for testosterone deficiency for our service members, making certain you’ve the precise testosterone ranges to function at your best possible,” Hegseth stated in a video posted to X with the caption, “The Excessive-T Division of Struggle.”
The brand new coverage will make testosterone checks a regular a part of the army’s current annual periodic well being evaluation. Whereas it’s required for troops over 30, youthful service members have the choice to obtain the screening voluntarily.
There can be no different modifications to the well being evaluation, in response to Hegseth, who stated the Pentagon will simply add the testosterone screening to the annual analysis.
If a troop is discovered to have low testosterone, Hegseth says there can be a substitute remedy obtainable, but when it’s beneficial, “it’s fully your option to obtain” it.
Hegseth stated the objective isn’t an effort to artificially increase army efficiency.
“This initiative, it’s not about synthetic enhancement,” Hegseth stated. “It’s about restoring and optimizing your pure capabilities, defending your longevity, making certain you’ve the organic basis required to maintain the struggle.”
“The fashionable battlefield is brutal and unrelenting. It requires and calls for most psychological and psychological readiness, and by addressing these well being markers early, we’re preserving you on the vanguard of lethality,” the secretary added.
Testosterone is a hormone that performs a key function in intercourse drive, power ranges, bone density, muscle mass, and crimson blood cell manufacturing. Testosterone in males naturally declines as they age, although the speed and velocity it decreases varies.
New analysis finds that one out of 4 males over age 30 have low testosterone ranges, however just one in 20 males present noticeable signs.
“By addressing these well being markers early, we’re preserving you on the vanguard of lethality and giving you a similar degree of assist that you simply give this nation the best possible,” Hegseth stated.
Coincidentally, bedroom-booster medication rose to an all-time excessive for army personnel, with a record-breaking 108,332 medication prescribed in 2025 for energetic troops for erectile dysfunction, in response to official statistics first obtained by The Publish by means of a Freedom of Data Act request.
The earlier document, set in 2024, comes shut with 108,323 prescriptions set. In 2021, a 16.5% leap in prescriptions was recorded with solely 92,966 medication prescribed.
The surge doesn’t finish with energetic army personnel. Veterans and dependents claimed 639,355 bedroom-boosting prescriptions in 2025.
People with clinically recognized testosterone deficiency have seen enchancment of their sexual operate after therapy, in response to the Endocrine Society. The group, nevertheless, notes that therapy ought to solely be carried out when low testosterone is confirmed by means of screening.
“Whereas we make investments closely in our weapon programs, platforms and kit, our most decisive tactical benefit will at all times be the person warfighter,” Hegseth stated. “We’ve a sacred obligation to keep up that benefit, which is why we should consistently search for new methods to optimize your efficiency, your resilience and your long-term well being.”
The Pentagon has not but launched when the brand new screening requirement will take impact throughout the army branches, or if extra medical steerage will accompany the rollout.
