Hegseth does PT work with troops in Malaysia, and pushes the “fit, not fat” mandate.

The War Department showed pictures of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth training with American forces stationed in Malaysia, and pledged that American soldiers would be “fit, not fat.”

“Secretary Hegseth joined our warfighters early in the morning in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” Department of Defense Rapid Response Account Written on X. “From top to bottom, we’ll be fit, not fat!”

These photos come just one month after Hegseth announced that all combat personnel would be required to meet the highest physical standards for males in order to maintain their positions.

During a Sept. 30 presentation at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Hegseth called on the department to “restore tough, fair and common-sense enforcement of standards.”

‘Come to Jesus Meeting’: Military Community Reacts to Hegseth, Get Fit, Get in Line or Stay Away

As part of the new mandate, “every member of the Joint Force at every rank is required to take a test twice a year, in addition to meeting height and weight requirements twice a year, in each year of service,” the minister said. In addition, members of the joint force will be required to perform PT [physical training] Each workday, Hegseth said, is standard in many units but will be formally written down.

“If the Secretary of War can perform regular arduous missions, then everyone in our joint force can, too,” he said.

Hegseth stipulates the “highest all-male standard” for combat, other changes, and declares the Defense Department “finished”

Hegseth criticized “fat troops” and “fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon,” arguing that the physical standards of American service members had eroded and that it was time to raise the bar.

In September, President Donald Trump issued an executive order returning the Department of Defense to the War Department. Trump said in the executive order that the founders chose the department’s original name “to signal our strength and resolve to the world.”

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When Hegseth unveiled the new material requirements, just weeks after Trump issued his order, the secretary declared that “the era of the Department of Defense is over.”

“From this moment on, the sole mission of the newly restored War Ministry is: war fighting. Prepare for war and prepare for victory,” Hegseth added.

In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon referred Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s social media posts and speech at Quantico.