Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is on a mission to make our military great again — and that includes restoring fitness standards for every soldier.
No more fat troops!
So, when the Texas National Guard arrived in Chicago as part of President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration and crime, a photo of a group of overweight soldiers quickly spread like wildfire.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s that viral photo:
Members of the Texas National Guard have arrived in Illinois, according to sources familiar with their whereabouts and video taken of them at an Army Reserve training facility in a Chicago suburb.
Read more: https://t.co/AkmU3diD97 pic.twitter.com/chTjQ1TrFY
— ABC News (@ABC) October 7, 2025
Obviously, the photo was heavily criticized for being in stark contrast to the vision that Pete Hegseth has for our troops.
On social media, the soldiers were dubbed ‘Meal Team Six’ and memes like these started popping up:
— Silent Memejority (@memejority) October 8, 2025
— NumetalDialectic 🎃 (@NuDialectics) October 7, 2025
I don’t want to be too harsh on these soldiers themselves.
They are probably very nice guys.
But, this is not a good look for our military and frankly, it’s dangerous to have soldiers who do not meet the physical requirements.
Now, it’s now being reported that they have been sent home for not being up to par.
NEW: Some Texas National Guard soldiers deployed to Chicago have been sent home for failing to meet height, weight & fitness standards.
Comes after Defense Sec & former Fox host Pete Hegseth said he was tired of “fat troops” giving the military a “bad look.”
— Bayliss Wagner (@baylisswagner) October 13, 2025
A small, but unspecified, number of troops who failed to meet the standards have been sent back home to Texas from Chicago.
Task and Purpose reported:
The Texas Military Department has removed an unspecified number of National Guard troops deployed to Chicago for not being “in compliance” with its validation process.
A spokesperson for the Texas Military Department confirmed to Task & Purpose that “a small group” of the 200 National Guard members sent to Illinois this past week have been replaced after they were found to not meet certain standards. The move came amid criticism on social media over pictures that showed some of the Guard members appearing to be overweight, and as an appeals court temporarily blocked the deployment of the Texan troops into Illinois.
“In less than 24 hours, Texas National Guardsmen mobilized for the Federal Protection Mission,” a spokesperson told Task & Purpose by email this weekend. “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.”
It’s nice to see that our military is no longer allowing soldiers to slack off.
In response to the news, Secretary Hegseth confirmed:
Standards are back at The @DeptofWar. pic.twitter.com/f2YScwhmMI
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) October 13, 2025
What do you think?
Do you support this move?
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!