Hegseth announces low-testosterone testing for male service members aged 30 and over — Fortune

In the United States, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on July 15, 2026, that the Pentagon will begin screening male service members aged 30 and older for low testosterone levels. Fortune reports.

Symptoms to be considered

As the Pentagon clarified, the screenings will include an assessment of symptoms of low testosterone. These include reduced libido, loss of spontaneous morning erections, erectile dysfunction, reduced energy and physical performance, impaired concentration, loss of muscle mass, and depressed mood.

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The columnist's assessment

The Fortune article is a reprint of a column by Matthew N. Hannah, an associate professor of rhetoric, politics and culture at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, originally published by The Conversation. The author considers Hegseth's initiative in the context of the Donald Trump administration's political communication and uses the term “cringe fascism” to describe it. This is the columnist's assessment, not the Pentagon's position.

Hannah also writes that, in his view, the combination of rhetoric about hypermasculinity and military superiority in this policy differs from how the professional U.S. Armed Forces presented themselves under previous administrations.