Pentagon Pulls Its Mandatory Testosterone Screening Guidance One Day After Issuing It

The Defense Department temporarily rescinded clinical guidance for a new mandatory testosterone-deficiency screening requirement on September 3, one day after the Defense Health Agency published it. The guidance called for male active-duty and reserve members aged 30 and over to be screened during routine health assessments, with blood tests and, where hypogonadism was diagnosed, follow-up screening and testosterone replacement therapy. Female service members were to be asked about symptoms of hormonal dysregulation and referred for further assessment. The department said the guidance is being updated, that interim guidance remains in effect, and that final clinical guidance will be issued shortly.

A screening mandate published and withdrawn within a day points to policy being issued before the clinical review that would normally precede it.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the screening initiative roughly two and a half months earlier in a video titled The High-T Department of War, saying treatment would remain the service member's choice. The withdrawn document described testosterone as a critical biological marker for warfighter readiness.