{"id":428,"date":"2026-07-16T20:06:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:06:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428"},"modified":"2026-07-16T20:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T20:06:28","slug":"hegseth-wants-to-test-troops-testosterone-levels-its-absurd-and-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When I read on Wednesday that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will start testing U.S. service members for testosterone deficiency, I thought it was an internet joke, maybe a post from the Onion, a play on Dr. Strangelove<\/em>\u2018s Brig.Gen. Jack D. Ripper ranting against fluoride as a Communist plot to sap our precious bodily fluids.<\/p>\n

Read more There\u2019s a Real Danger that Trump v. Barbara Becomes the New Roe v. Wade<\/a><\/p>\n

But no, it turns out there\u2019s a video, which seems to be real, of the former Fox News host and Army major announcing annual tests of all members of the armed forces over the age of 30\u2014and testosterone shots for those who score low\u2014as a way of \u201crestoring and optimizing your natural capabilities\u201d and retaining our military\u2019s \u201cleading edge of lethality.\u201d He claims that \u201cour most decisive tactical advantage will always be the individual Warfighter.\u201d Hence his new slogan: \u201cThe High-T Department of War.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Hegseth has spouted a lot of rubbish in his 18 months as the Pentagon\u2019s top civilian and the Trump administration\u2019s keenest war hawk, but this one may top the pile: It\u2019s ill-informed on every level and, in some ways, dangerous.<\/p>\n

For all his \u201cHigh-T\u201d bluster (Colin Jost\u2019s portrayal of him on Saturday Night Live<\/em> is just barely parody), Hegseth doesn\u2019t seem to have much understanding of testosterone. First, according to a Harvard Medical School study, blood levels of testosterone can \u201cvary dramatically over time and even during the course of a day\u201d; thus a single test showing abnormal levels (too high or too low) \u201cmay actually be unrelated to this hormone.\u201d Besides, the study notes, there\u2019s no clear notion of what a \u201cnormal\u201d level is.<\/p>\n

Second, a vast study by the National Institutes of Health concluded that, in young to middle-aged males, \u201ctestosterone levels are positively associated with muscle mass<\/em> but not with muscle strength<\/em>\u201d (italics added). Dr. Stuart Weiss, a Manhattan endocrinologist, elaborated in an email: \u201cBigger muscles are not necessarily stronger.\u201d To the extent, then, that a stronger soldier is a more lethal soldier (as Hegseth seems to assume), jacking up testosterone levels won\u2019t necessarily get you there.<\/p>\n

Read more Someone Finally Made Trump Pay for a Lifetime of Mistreating Women<\/a><\/p>\n

Third, the Food and Drug Administration last year added a label to testosterone-boosting drugs (which Hegseth wants troops with low levels to take), warning that they increase the chance of high blood pressure and blood clots. Also, according to Weiss, testosterone injections can cause \u201caggressive behavior and mood swings, especially during peak serum levels.\u201d(Though Weiss didn\u2019t say as much, it\u2019s worth asking whether Hegseth is taking T shots. Could this explain his rowdier behavior, or that of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who says that he does inject the stuff regularly?)<\/p>\n

But the main fallacy in Hegseth\u2019s latest campaign is that, even if his assumptions about testosterone were correct, they have little to do with the nature of modern warfare or the talents, abilities, or \u201clethality\u201d of a modern \u201cwarfighter.\u201d There are exceptions here. All other things equal, a low testosterone level may<\/em> inhibit the intensity or endurance of someone in Special Operations (like the SEALs) or infantry or some branch of logistics that involves lifting a lot of heavy objects. But for most other military jobs, it has no effect at all. This is particularly true of service members engaged in the realms that are defining a new era in warfare\u2014drone operators, A.I. programmers, and those managing the coordination of intelligence assets, communications networks, and the synchronization of missile launches and aircraft overflights. Far more relevant, and increasingly so for wars of the future, would be a knowledge of strategy and science\u2014precisely the enterprises that Hegseth has discouraged, even barred, U.S. officers from pursuing.<\/p>\n

My guess is that, even in the current war in Iran, how well American warfighters are doing their jobs has little to do with their ability to drop and give Hegseth 100 pushups or a five-minute plank.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s DOJ Is Now Targeting the New York Times for Basic Reporting<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This idea is both laughable and dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[10,140,61,121,55],"class_list":["post-428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-war-stories","tag-donald-trump","tag-health","tag-medicine","tag-military","tag-war"],"yoast_head":"\nHegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous. - Home Move Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous. - Home Move Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This idea is both laughable and dangerous.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home Move Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T20:06:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/75d86f25dbb870f24983ccc831d1ec4e\"},\"headline\":\"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T20:06:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428\"},\"wordCount\":706,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Donald Trump\",\"Health\",\"Medicine\",\"Military\",\"War\"],\"articleSection\":[\"War Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428\",\"name\":\"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous. - Home Move Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T20:06:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/75d86f25dbb870f24983ccc831d1ec4e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif\",\"width\":1560,\"height\":1040},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?p=428#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Move Chronicle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/75d86f25dbb870f24983ccc831d1ec4e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/homemovechronicle.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous. - Home Move Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous. - Home Move Chronicle","og_description":"This idea is both laughable and dangerous.","og_url":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428","og_site_name":"Home Move Chronicle","article_published_time":"2026-07-16T20:06:28+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/75d86f25dbb870f24983ccc831d1ec4e"},"headline":"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous.","datePublished":"2026-07-16T20:06:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428"},"wordCount":706,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif","keywords":["Donald Trump","Health","Medicine","Military","War"],"articleSection":["War Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428","url":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428","name":"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous. - Home Move Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-16T20:06:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/75d86f25dbb870f24983ccc831d1ec4e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/d37961cbcfca6eb7032d5a4051375738.avif","width":1560,"height":1040},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?p=428#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hegseth Wants to Test Troops\u2019 Testosterone Levels. It\u2019s Absurd\u2014and Dangerous."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/","name":"Home Move Chronicle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/75d86f25dbb870f24983ccc831d1ec4e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/homemovechronicle.com"],"url":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homemovechronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}