Pete Hegseth sends some National Guard troops back to Texas for being overweight

By 
 October 14, 2025

Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops were deployed to Chicago earlier this month as part of an effort to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities from violent mobs.

However, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth demanded that some of those soldiers be replaced after a series of embarrassing images went viral. 

Online pictures showed overweight National Guard troops arriving from Texas

According to The Hill, a statement was put out by the National Guard Bureau this past Thursday which seemed to reference images of overweight troops arriving in Illinois.

It noted that National Guard troops "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 those requirements," the statement explained.

"On the rare occasions when members are found not in compliance, they will not go on mission. They will be returned to their home station, and replacements who do meet standards will take their places," it went on to add.

Texas Military Department confirms that "a small number of" troops were sent home

The Hill pointed out that similar sentiments were expressed by a spokesperson for the Texas Military Department to Task & Purpose.

"In less than 24 hours, Texas National Guardsmen mobilized for the Federal Protection Mission," the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

"The speed of the response necessitated a concurrent validation process, during which we identified a small group of service members who were not in compliance and have been replaced," the figure acknowledged.

For his part, Hegseth put up a social media post which included a screenshot of the Task & Purpose article along with a caption that read, "Standards are back at [the Department of War]."

Secretary of War lays out new physical standards for service members

His post came just weeks after Fox News reported that Hegseth lashed out at inadequate physical abilities within the military during a speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico.

He asserted that "every member of the joint force at every rank is required to take a test twice a year, as well as meet height and weight requirements twice a year, every year of service."

"If the Secretary of War can do regular hard PT, so can every member of our joint force," Hegseth went on to maintain.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson