The review will include standards for physical fitness, body composition and grooming, including beards, which are currently not allowed in the military, apart from some religious exemptions, according to a memo from Hegseth dated Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered senior Pentagon leadership to review how and why grooming standards, including beards, have changed since 2015.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of the military’s grooming standards—and he wants his generals to look very closely at beards. In a memo to senior military leaders, Hegseth asked for a review of all fitness,

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a sweeping, military-wide review of physical fitness and grooming standards with the apparent aim of making the military a stricter and less accommodating environment for troops.