Pentagon abruptly pulls the rules for Pete Hegseth’s ‘High T’ testosterone-fueled military

The Pentagon spent nearly two months devising instructions to put Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “High-T” military into practice. The instructions lasted less than a day.On Wednesday, the Defense Department published detailed clinical guidance for Hegseth’s mandate to screen service members for testosterone deficiencies and other hormonal conditions. By Thursday, the document and an accompanying statement had vanished from the Pentagon’s website.Related: Judge in trans military ban case demands Pentagon explain Hegseth’s testosterone double standardThe guidance was “temporarily rescinded to allow for updates,” an unnamed U.S. official told Reuters. The official said interim guidance remained in effect.What needs updating — and why the document was published before those changes were made — remains unclear. The Pentagon has not said when replacement guidance will appear. It also has not withdrawn Hegseth’s underlying order, leaving the politically charged program intact but its clinical operation uncertain.Hegseth announced the initiative July 15 in a video titled “The High-T Department of War.” He ordered testosterone deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, presenting hormone therapy as an instrument of physical strength, longevity, and combat readiness.“We owe our warriors the absolute best medical care in the world, and this program delivers on that obligation,” Hegseth said.The detailed guidance offered the first clear account of what the program would mean inside military clinics. It also revealed that Hegseth’s sweeping order would become two markedly different systems for men and women.Related: The Pentagon said transgender hormone care costs too much. Now Pete Hegseth wants testosterone boostsMen age 30 and older would receive mandatory testosterone blood tests. Younger men could request testing or be tested when clinicians identified signs of a possible deficiency, according to Reut