{"id":1907,"date":"2026-09-18T18:41:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/?p=1907"},"modified":"2026-09-18T18:41:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:41:09","slug":"the-pentagon-is-moving-forward-with-mandatory-testosterone-testing-for-most-male-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/?p=1907","title":{"rendered":"The Pentagon is moving forward with mandatory testosterone testing for most male troops"},"content":{"rendered":"


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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The Pentagon has rolled out formal guidance for mandatory testosterone testing<\/a> for male service members 30 and older, a policy that leaves out women for now and faces questions from medical experts about the need and efficacy of such a program.<\/p>\n

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in July that a new program to screen troops for \u201ctestosterone deficiency\u201d<\/a> was necessary to allow them to operate at their \u201cabsolute best.\u201d The new clinical guidance, released late Thursday, outlines how the program would work.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon’s efforts to test for low testosterone coincide with growing interest in the hormone<\/a> that has been driven by men\u2019s health influencers and podcasters, many of whom recommend the drug<\/a> as a way to boost energy, muscle and feel younger.<\/p>\n

However, many experts say those far-reaching benefits aren\u2019t supported by the science. Hegseth’s messaging on the hormone has blended established scientific facts with broader, and less substantiated, claims.<\/p>\n

The new guidance clarifies that the mandatory testing would initially apply to only male service members. Hegseth’s initial memo in July<\/a> directed mandatory testosterone deficiency screenings for all troops, but the clinical guidance released Thursday says it is for \u201ctestosterone deficiency in the male service member.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guidance says \u201cthe female clinical practice guideline is being reviewed and will be posted upon approval.\u201d The Pentagon has not said whether female troops would be able to be evaluated for estrogen-based therapy<\/a> as they enter perimenopause.<\/p>\n

Testosterone declines naturally with age and can affect sexual function, mood, bone density and other measures. But experts have long debated how to diagnose those problems and whether to treat them by replacing the hormone. <\/p>\n

In the last decade, federal studies have shown that boosting testosterone improves erectile dysfunction, low libido and other issues in men.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon’s top spokesman, Sean Parnell, said Thursday that \u201cby proactively identifying and treating suboptimal hormone levels,\u201d the Pentagon aims to \u201cinvest in the health of its warfighters, strengthen their performance, and maximize force readiness.\u201d <\/p>\n

Medical groups generally don\u2019t recommend automatic screening of testosterone levels. Instead, medical guidelines typically recommend testosterone for men who report symptoms \u2014 including low libido and depressed mood \u2014 and have two blood tests confirming low levels of the hormone.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon\u2019s policy breaks from that approach, requiring testosterone screening for all male personnel 30 and older and allowing younger members also to request screenings.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the new guidelines mostly conform to medical standards, including acknowledging the limited benefits of replacing the hormone.<\/p>\n

For instance, the guidelines say, \u201cEvidence does not support its use to improve energy, vitality, physical function, or cognition.\u201d Instead, the document mentions \u201cdemonstrated benefits\u201d for sexual function and certain body measures, including bone density.<\/p>\n

The policy does not make replacement therapy mandatory should a service member be found eligible, while the guidelines flag long-established side effects of boosting testosterone, including the potential for a drop in sperm count. When men receive testosterone externally, the body typically reduces \u2014 or even stops \u2014 its natural sperm production.<\/p>\n

As a result, military doctors are instructed not to prescribe testosterone therapy to anyone hoping to have children in the near future.<\/p>\n

Another complicating factor for troops is the controlled nature of testosterone itself. The memo notes that its “use in the deployed environment raises supply, custody, storage, and continuity considerations that should be resolved before departure rather than in theater.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new guidance makes clear that injectable testosterone \u201crequires controlled room temperature storage and controlled substance accountability\u201d and that troops who are on replacement therapies need to ensure they have enough of a supply despite the fact that federal law limits prescriptions on controlled substances like testosterone.<\/p>\n

The caution and practical hurdles within the documentation over the use of testosterone while on deployment stand in contrast to remarks from Hegseth in July, when he argued that the rigors of the modern battlefield demand \u201cmaximum psychological and mental readiness” and that testosterone therapy was part of the solution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has rolled out formal guidance for mandatory testosterone testing for male service members 30 and older, a policy that leaves out women for now and faces questions from medical experts about the need and efficacy of such a program. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in July that a new program to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1newslive.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}