Pentagon Pulls Testosterone Screening Rules Within a Day

The Pentagon published detailed clinical guidance on Sept. 2 for a new mandatory testosterone-deficiency screening program covering active-duty and reserve service members aged 30 and older — then pulled it off its website less than 24 hours later.

"The draft (document) published on September 2, 2026, has been temporarily rescinded to allow for updates," a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that interim guidance remains in effect.

The program is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's, announced in July. The rescinded document also created, for the first time, a hormone-screening pathway for female troops.

What the guidance said

For men 30 and older: a questionnaire during the annual Periodic Health Assessment that could trigger a blood test for testosterone levels and, if warranted, hormone replacement therapy. Fox News reported the blood testing was mandatory and the hormone therapy voluntary.

For women: an annual clinical screen for hormonal dysregulation at the same assessment, with pathways covering menstrual irregularities, fatigue, perimenopause and menopause. Army Times reported the guidance directed providers to assess for Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport — a low-energy-availability condition linked to bone-stress injuries and impaired endocrine function — using a validated questionnaire and the International Olympic Committee's clinical assessment tool.

Women 35 and older reporting significant perimenopause or menopause symptoms were to be referred to a midlife-transition specialist, or to DHA's Midlife Telehealth Hub where no local expertise exists.

On testosterone for women, the guidance was narrow: citing the 2019 Global Consensus Position Statement, it identified Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in postmenopausal women as the only evidence-based indication. Treatment would be off-label at one-tenth of an FDA-approved male 1% testosterone cream, stopped after six months without demonstrated benefit. DHA cautioned that safety data for the treatment in women do not extend beyond 24 months.