Pentagon rescinds new testosterone screening policy without explanation

https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/09/pentagon-releases-then-quickly-removes-testosterone-screening-policy/

45•ndsipa_pomu•52m ago

Comments

tyleo•39m ago

I don’t know much about this except that I know perfectly normal or even jacked men with lower than expected testosterone. I suspect messing with hormones based on the results of a test and no actual problems can unnecessarily alter mood.

So my theory—based mostly on conjecture—is that these tests selected people they didn’t expect and the treatments would do more harm than good.

noir_lord•34m ago

I think it's simpler than that, I think Hanlon's Razor applies here.

Not sure there has been a less capable Secretary of Defence in my lifetime than who they currently have in the role.

Note: not saying less objectionable, I'd put Rumsfeld right alongside for that but as much as I didn't like the man, it was hard to argue he was incapable.

amelius•31m ago

Both can be true. Incompetence AND malice.

schiffern•26m ago

Troublingly, I think he actually does think these ideas are helpful. Is a True Believer any less dangerous?

"Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice."

noir_lord•23m ago

They are generally dangerous but they are truly dangerous when what they believe is itself dangerous.

jjgreen•18m ago

I'll be using that

hedora•3m ago

You’ll like the Simple Sabotage Field Manual too:

https://archive.org/details/simplesabotagefi26184gut/page/n1...

It helped the allies win WWII. It contains lots of good advice (and the white collar chapter should be required reading in corporate training).

bryancoxwell•23m ago

Or simpler still, although related. Maybe we just can’t afford it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/21/...

Jgrubb•20m ago

Rumsfeld put in the work and was very smart. His natural disposition was such that, when given the ring of power, things went badly.

The current head of DoD is basically a manosphere influencer that bumbled into this job.

Now, I'm not an endocrinologist, just an aging guy, but from my current vantage point it appears that over the course of my life, many stupid decisions have been made that I have lived to tell about. I can't help but feel that my "wisdom of age" might just be testosterone getting out of the way.

This is all to say that our current "situation" just kinda looks like one insecure guys roid rage when you take a big step back.

lokar•9m ago

Trump was pretty clear he chose him because he looked good in TV.

ceejayoz•4m ago

And keeps him because he's good at the number one priority, being a fluffer.

ungreased0675•31m ago

I was very curious what the results were going to show.

bflesch•28m ago

Is there even a US-based testosterone supply chain? Or was the idea to inject all their service members with a product from overseas that could have supply problems or subtle strategic "impurities"?

petcat•24m ago

The US produces an enormous amount of pharmaceutical testosterone

bob1029•23m ago

> “Taking testosterone is not going to make you more manly, more strong, or a more robust individual. That’s just not how it works,”

It will make you stronger. Perhaps not at certain therapeutic ranges, but there is a reason this would get you kicked out of the Olympic Games.

nba456_•14m ago

Crazy that a doctor would say taking testosterone would not make you stronger. Remind me to never listen to the American College of Physicians.

lokar•8m ago

IMO he obviously meant boosting someone who was low back into the normal range.

roncesvalles•8m ago

I think it still depends. More test can also result in more estrogen. There is selection bias in athletes who dope because they're the ones who happen to respond positively to it.

There must be a graveyard atheletes who tried doping and it made them worse lol.

petesergeant•6m ago

Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? That's exactly what testosterone does, including the "more manly" part. Literally the reason it's gender-affirming care for female-to-male transitioners and aging men. "Robust" is the only word there that's questionable, and even then, I'd say science says "probably". You can give it to a horse, and it will make the horse notably stronger and more “manly”.

jrm4•22m ago

"Without explanation"

I mean, sure, it would probably be embarrassing to have to say "because this was extremely stupid and nonsensical and entirely due to the weird hangups of the present guy in charge."

diydsp•5m ago

Perhaps the explanation is: to make space for other incoherent self-defeating policies like threatening the Fed that they'll increase tariffs if rates aren't lowered?

ilaksh•2m ago

They're not weird at all given his worldview. It's Nazism. From his book to his public statements and actions, he consistently expresses this. The only thing he does not do is use the literal language that is not accepted. But the meaning and actions are the same. People are in denial.

greggsy•14m ago

I had no idea this was a thing.

It seems to edge us closer to the dystopian ‘super soldier gone wrong’ trope.

badgersnake•8m ago

If we explained how dumb this was somebody would have to resign, so we’ll just sweep it under the carpet.

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Pentagon rescinds new testosterone screening policy without explanation

Comments

The "$60 Gaming PC" – AMD BC-250 (2025)

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