The U.S. Department of Defense has launched a new initiative that marks a significant shift in military healthcare policy, mandating annual testosterone screenings for all active duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older, while offering voluntary testing for younger troops. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the announcement official in a video posted to the social platform X, framing the program as a core commitment to delivering the highest standard of care for the nation’s armed forces.
In the video titled “High-T Department”, Hegseth authorized the new screening protocol, emphasizing that the program’s core goal is to help troops operate at peak physical performance, rather than enabling artificial performance enhancement. “We owe our warriors the absolute best medical care in the world, and this program delivers on that obligation,” Hegseth said. He added that supporting long-term troop health ensures service members remain strong, resilient, and capable not only through deployments but for life after they leave military service. Service members found to have clinically low testosterone levels will be offered voluntary testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), while non-medical use of testosterone for artificial muscle growth remains strictly prohibited under military rules.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed in a Wednesday statement that the mandatory screening for testosterone deficiency is effective immediately for all eligible personnel. Parnell noted that the protocol will allow the Department of Defense to build a comprehensive health baseline for troops and deliver targeted care when needed, with the end goal of sustaining a healthy, highly capable fighting force.
The initiative aligns with broader pushes from the current Trump administration to expand access to testosterone therapy across the U.S. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has led efforts to remove regulatory barriers for clinicians prescribing TRT, even positioning expanded access as a potential response to what the administration has called a national “fertility crisis”. Just last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved to revise labeling requirements for TRT products, removing mandatory safety and effectiveness disclosures and proposing looser limits on how the products can be prescribed.
Medical experts have broadly supported the core idea of routine testosterone screening for older men, while raising important cautions about overprescription. Dr. Mohit Khera, a urology professor at Baylor College of Medicine who led an FDA expert panel on military testosterone screening and use last year, told the BBC that routine screening for all men over 30 is clinically justified, as testosterone levels are a key marker of both current and long-term overall health. Khera explained that undiagnosed low testosterone can reduce muscle mass and energy levels, disadvantages that carry particular risk for service members in combat situations. When prescribed appropriately to patients with confirmed deficiency, TRT offers meaningful benefits: increased muscle mass, reduced body fat, lower depression risk, and improved long-term bone mineral density.
However, Khera emphasized that TRT is not appropriate for everyone, and carries measurable risks for certain groups. For younger men in their reproductive years, testosterone supplementation can cause infertility, a side effect that must be clearly communicated before treatment begins. The treatment also carries a theoretical increased risk of cardiovascular events that providers and patients must take into account when weighing treatment options. “You have to be careful not to just give someone testosterone unless they do have some kind of symptoms,” Khera noted, highlighting the need for targeted, clinically justified care rather than widespread routine supplementation.