Doctors question evidence behind Pentagon plan for testosterone screening

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

July 18, 2026 6:03 AM EDT Updated 4 hours ago


July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered annual testosterone-deficiency screening for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, which he says will help to maintain military readiness. But many medical ​professionals warn it might do nothing of the sort and instead could increase service members' risk of infertility or other consequences if testosterone is prescribed inappropriately.

The mandate is one of several recent healthcare policy ‌changes implemented by Hegseth and other Trump administration cabinet officers that have sparked debate among experts and raised questions about what scientific basis, if any, supports them. Hegseth has also reversed the military's long-standing flu vaccine mandate, a decision that was walked back after a flu outbreak, while the Department of Health and Human Services removed 17 members from its vaccine advisory panel and altered its vaccine recommendations.

Five of six men's health experts contacted by Reuters for this story said they were puzzled by the announcement on testosterone testing and concerned it may lead to unnecessary — or even harmful — ​treatment.

Hegseth said testing would be accompanied by advice to help soldiers make decisions about treatment, which would be voluntary. The goals, he added, are to ensure troops have the right testosterone levels to operate at their absolute best ​and to improve their resilience, longevity and performance, so as to ensure the military's combat readiness. Four of the six doctors said there was no solid evidence suggesting that screening for ⁠low testosterone in all military personnel aged 30 and older would optimize U.S. readiness for combat.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/doctors-question-evidence-behind-pentagon-plan-testosterone-screening-2026-07-18/

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My first thought was them doing a bizarre way to weed out trans men. Then as some neti``zens postulated, this was Kegsbreath's twisted attempt at "gender confirming care".

[tanyev]

1. Doctors? They don't need no stinkin' doctors.

They got RFK Jr and conservative influencers advising them.


😒

[travelingthrulife]

2. Whiskey Pete likes his boy toys buffed.

[Walleye]

3. Sure, the soldiers are free to refuse treatment, and the others are allowed to call them pussies because of it

[slightlv]

9. And probably be released from Service for not ensuring combat readiness.

I still see it as a backdoor way to get rid of more female soldiers, as well as to weed out anyone who has gender issues. Too much testosterone, I believe, can lead to various cancers (I want to remember reading that, but it's been so long ago, and may have changed) as well as lead to unwanted side effects.

Also, and I've not seen this discussed with reference to this, RFK jr is trying to justify taking away HRT from women. Going back to being dependent upon various folk cures such as Black Cohosh. Some of this works great for women... and they use it for years to good effect. For others (like me) HRT saved my sanity, and probably my marriage, when I went into premature menopause at an early age. And wait until kegsbreath discovers that Estrogen is an important hormone for men, too! AFAIC, he's doing eugenic type experiments with no guarantee the soldiers will be taken care of when it all goes so very wrong (which it will, trump touched it, after all!). Hormones are not to be messed around with, whether you're a man or a woman. The best you can hope for is to keep a balanced level of all the hormones necessary for your health. Not pump a predominance of one over all the others... at least, not if you want a combat ready, functioning norman human being in your military.

[Walleye]

11. Pistol, Pete hates women and expects approval of his bros

Just like the rest of the Republican party

[twodogsbarking]

4. Step right up folks the circus ain't leavin' and neither are the clowns.

[Progressive dog]

5. Wouldn't it be cheaper and more effective

to put them all on steroids?

[Americanme]

6. Guess a lot of testosterone is needed to operate a drone.

You know who worries about "low T"? Pathetic middle-aged men who are trying to attract 20 year old girls. I really shouldn't say that, I know it is a legitimate concern for some people. But PeeWee Hegseth, Brainworm Bobby, Elon Muskrat, the whole trump klan, they are all overly concerned with appearing "manly". Those weirdos turn my stomach.

[slightlv]

10. In addition to all the warnings on TV for the Low-T substitutes...

stroke, heart attacks, etc. Kegsbreath considers THESE combat-ready traits?

[multigraincracker]

7. Better yet. Let's give kegsbreath 3

Different IQ test. Also give the same test to all female military officers.
Those scoring higher than Pete shall out rank him.

[groundloop]

8. Or a test on the constitution, or military law, or history, or........

I've no doubt Kegsbreath would embarrass himself on any of those.

[moniss]

12. You can be sure that the drunken moron will

also take whatever the doctors say is a "normal" range for men and jack it up to a "recommended" level. In weird ways these sorts of thinking about creating "better" soldiers through chemistry is an echo of the eugenics movement. In people like Carlson, Kennedy etc. their is the belief about finding the right "magic supplements" to do this, that or something else.

The advent of steroid abuse helped convince them that physical greatness from pills or injections for everybody. In fact people like Joe Rogan and others have advocated for unrestricted use of steroids in sports and some even into the general population. The ignorance level among these clowns is very high, like Aaron Rodgers, and they think of themselves as "researchers". Much of it is fodder for charlatans, like Dr. Oz, to rake in money.

But the eugenics crowd back in the last century had a "better soldier" component to it. We know one guy even thought that there was such a thing as a "Master Race" and keeping it genetically pure was a goal. Things didn't pan out for him. Thankfully.

[Martin68]

13. 100% pseudo-science.

[JohnnyRingo]

14. A LOT of people join the military just for benefits, not for special forces

Some for a college education, others for business loans. Some do it just because the job prospect is currently bleak.
Hegseth's goal of creating a force that longs to rack up kills in his name will make the career less appealing.

We're going to end up with a serious recruiting deficit. Maybe even a draft. That will be the end of this administration and all involved.

[purrmaid]

15. I am Nemesis, also known as DragonLady. US Army, Master Aviator, Airborne

I dont need no stinkin' testosterone to be more warrior than some dickhead. I am bereft of all but one ovary, and I will still eat you for lunch.

fear me, you f'kin cowards.

DragonLady, US Army

[Bayard]

16. Turn all the male soldiers into The Hulk,

And they'll already come with the green uniform.

[Aristus]

17. I was a tank crewman in the Army, back before women were allowed to serve on tanks.

BTW, mad respect and admiration for the women tankers out there.

Soldiers rarely get more gritty, greasy, sweaty, and adrenaline-pumped than tankers.

And we didn’t need any fucking testosterone injections to get the job done. We had beer, Jack, Mad/Dog, Boone’s Farms, chow hall grub, discipline, training, enthusiasm, and know-how.

I’m so sick of these armchair warriors and their pre-teen boy’s ideas about masculinity.