’Fat troops’ deemed unworthy to patrol world’s ’most dangerous city’

Some Texas National Guard soldiers sent to Chicago were apparently deemed too fat to deploy and have been replaced, after viral photos of the heavier-set troops drew widespread attention online.

“A small group” of the 200 National Guard members sent to Illinois last week were pulled for failing to meet the military’s fitness and validation standards, the Texas Military Department confirmed to military news outlet Task & Purpose. 

“In less than 24 hours, Texas National Guardsmen mobilized for the Federal Protection Mission,” a spokesperson told the outlet. “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.”

A source told the San Antonio Express-News on Monday that the state rushed the deployment, accidentally including a handful of troops who didn’t meet fitness standards.

The uproar over the troops’ appearance came on the heels of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s fiery Sept. 30 speech, during which he blasted “fat troops” and “fat generals” for giving the military “a bad look.” Hegseth followed up the remarks with new rules requiring troops pass two fitness tests each year.

“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said at the time. “Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon and leading commands around the country and the world. It's a bad look. It is bad, and it's not who we are.”

A statement from the National Guard last week underscored the point.

“When mobilizing for active duty, members go through a validation process to ensure they meet requirements. On the rare occasions when members are found not in compliance, they will not go on mission. The National Guard, states, territories, and District of Columbia are committed to excellence and lethality and are laser-focused on compliance and standards.”

If Hegseth really finds it “tiring” to look at overweight service members, the Texas Guard’s arrival in Chicago must have been exhausting.

Trump has long called Chicago “the most dangerous city in the world.” (It isn’t.) 

Hegseth, for his part, celebrated the replacements on social media Monday, writing, “Standards are back” at the Department of Defense, alongside a screenshot of the Task & Purpose story.

The episode took off after ABC News posted photos showing several heavier-set service members in fatigues, rifles slung over their shoulders, and duffel bags in hand. Social media had a field day. 

“Meal Team 6 reporting for duty,” one X user replied. 

“They’re getting ready for operation dessert storm,” another joked. 

The post has since been viewed nearly 30 million times.

The deployment itself is wrapped up in a bigger legal fight. Following Trump’s orders, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent the 200 Texas guard members to Illinois amid ongoing protests at Immigration and Customs facilities that the Trump administration has vowed to crack down on. 

But this past Thursday, U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order, finding that the Trump administration’s orders likely violated the Constitution. 

On Saturday, a federal appeals court temporarily blocked the deployment, allowing the troops to remain federalized and in the state but not deployed. The Trump administration has vowed to keep fighting the lawsuit filed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the city of Chicago—a case that could end up at the Supreme Court. 

Meanwhile, Trump has also floated invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows presidents to dispatch active-duty military forces if states defy federal law or rebel against the federal government.

And so, in a bit of absurd symmetry, the federal government tried to send soldiers to patrol a city Trump has spent years calling crime-ridden. But some of those soldiers were too “fat,” in Hegseth’s words, to join the mission—a reminder that the problem wasn’t just legal or political. It was physical.

rss@dailykos.com (Alex Samuels)مصدر