Pentagon Reissues Hegseth Testosterone Guidance Without Female Troop Provisions

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The Pentagon issued new clinical guidelines for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s military testosterone screening program on Thursday, two weeks after abruptly pulling an earlier version that included hormone guidance for female service members — provisions that are absent from the replacement.

Hegseth first announced the initiative on July 15, ordering mandatory testosterone deficiency screenings for service members aged 30 and older as part of their periodic health assessments. Troops under 30 can also request screenings.

“This initiative, it’s not about artificial enhancement; it’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capability, protecting your longevity, and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight,” Hegseth said at the time.

The Pentagon followed up on Sept. 2 with detailed instructions for medical providers. Those rules went beyond testosterone testing for men, directing clinicians to ask female troops about issues such as disrupted menstrual cycles and fatigue as possible signs of hormonal dysregulation.

But those guidelines disappeared from the Pentagon’s website the following day.

A U.S. official told ABC News that the guidance had been “temporarily rescinded to allow for updates.” Hegseth’s senior adviser Tim Parlatore later told CNN it had been posted “inadvertently” and had not been approved for release.

“So we needed to pull that back because we need a lot more input to make sure that the information on that reflected the current science,” Parlatore said, “as opposed to certain antiquated protocols.”

The replacement guidance issued today is notably narrower than the Sept. 2 rules were.

Top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell titled his new statement “Clinical Guidance for Testosterone Deficiency in the Male Service Member” and said the guidance “addresses male testosterone deficiency,” establishing standardized screening and treatment procedures across the military health system.

The previous guidance concerning female service members is no longer mentioned.

“By proactively identifying and treating suboptimal hormone levels, the Department continues to invest in the health of its warfighters, strengthen their performance, and maximize force readiness,” Parnell wrote.

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