Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proudly announced Monday that some Texas National Guard soldiers who did not meet physical fitness standards have been replaced.
Hegseth, who said “big troops” and “big generals” are not a good fit for the U.S. military, said “norms are back” in his department after some members of the Texas National Guard were seen showing up in Illinois apparently overweight.
Standards are back at The @DeptofWar. pic.twitter.com/f2YScwhmMI
– Pete Hegseth (@petehegseth) October 13, 2025
A photograph by Erin Hooley of the Associated Press showing Texas troops arriving just outside Chicago, where Donald Trump intended to deploy them to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, has gone viral.
It is unclear if any of the soldiers in the photo were discharged, or how many. The Texas Military Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast.
Hegseth is going to lose his mind. I’m here for that. The Texas National Guard is coming to Chicago…for food, I guess. pic.twitter.com/Y9v2xI4eMF
– Fred Wellman (@FPWellman) October 7, 2025
“In less than 24 hours, the Texas National Guardsmen mobilized for the federal protection mission,” a department spokesperson told the military news site Task & Purpose this weekend. “The speed of response required a concurrent validation process, during which we identified a small group of service members who were not in compliance and were replaced.”
The National Guard Bureau also released a statement last Thursday, days after the viral photo was taken, emphasizing that “National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are required to meet service-specific height, weight and physical fitness standards at all times.”
“When mobilizing for active duty, members go through a validation process to ensure they meet these requirements,” the release continued. “In the rare event that members do not meet the standards, they will not go on mission. They will be returned to their home base and replacements meeting the standards will take their place.”
The Daily Beast reached out to the National Guard Bureau to see if the statement was a response to the viral photos.
Hegseth made it clear that military ineptitude is not desirable. After convening hundreds of top military officials from around the world at Marine Corps University at Quantico late last month, Hegseth said, “If the Secretary of War can conduct regular, intensive physical exercise, so can every member of our joint force.” »
Hegseth, who loves posting photos and videos of his workouts with soldiers, clarified that “hot yoga and stretching” doesn’t count.
“Real, tough PTs, whether as a unit or individually,” he said.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look at combat formations, or any formation, and see big troops,” he added. “Similarly, it is completely unacceptable to see big generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon running the commands of the country and the world.”
Texas troops remaining in Illinois have so far been blocked from deploying, after an appeals court judge put in place a temporary restraining order last week.
Judge April Perry said Thursday that she has “seen no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the State of Illinois” and that the Department of Homeland Security’s “perceptions of events are simply unreliable.”
The article Pentagon Pete Fires ‘Big’ Soldiers as War on Weight Rages appeared first on The Daily Beast.
