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- Hacker News
- "Without explanation"
I mean, sure, it would probably be embarrassing to have to say "because this was extremely stupid and nonsensical and entirely due to the weird hangups of the present guy in charge."
by jrm4 - They're not weird at all given his worldview. It's Nazism. From his book to his public statements and actions, he consistently expresses this. The only thing he does not do is use the literal language that is not accepted. But the meaning and actions are the same. People are in denial.by ilaksh
- Perhaps the explanation is: to make space for other incoherent self-defeating policies like threatening the Fed that they'll increase tariffs if rates aren't lowered?by diydsp
- So, was this some kind of trans witch hunt to weed out people who were transitioning? Or was it just a misguided attempt to name and shame men who weren’t “manly” enough?
It’s hard to imagine it was actually an ill conceived measure aimed at supporting healthy testosterone levels, but I guess it isn’t impossible.
I feel like maybe it was a cartoon inspired measure to create a super army of aggressive super soldiers? It’s got what plants crave? SMH
by K0balt - >So, was this some kind of trans witch hunt to weed out people who were transitioning? Or was it just a misguided attempt to name and shame men who weren’t “manly” enough?
Probably both.
by krapp - Is there even a US-based testosterone supply chain? Or was the idea to inject all their service members with a product from overseas that could have supply problems or subtle strategic "impurities"?by bflesch
- The US produces an enormous amount of pharmaceutical testosteroneby petcat
- Might be a temporary rescission, though:
'the Pentagon said that the document, titled “Clinical Guidance for Health and Human Performance Optimization,” had been temporarily rescinded on September 3 to allow for updates.'
by nabbed - I figured they were just trying to manipulate the elections.by jmpman
- I was very curious what the results were going to show.
- Shorter lives due to cardiovascular damage, and shrinking testicles as their body fails to regulate the self-inflicted hormone imbalance... Also irrational mood swings... A million piece puzzle was just solved.
Real athletes never touch the stuff for good reason, and sport organizers tend to test the 40lb overweight dude keeping pace as obviously more suspicious. =3
by Joel_Mckay - They wouldn't provide results. You'd only get conclusions that were made from the beginning.
- They'll release them right after they finish the "tylenol causes autism" study.by ceejayoz
- I’m surprised that reading The Game hasn’t been added to the annual trainings for soldiers and DoD civilians.by taybin
- Not that anyone needs any validation of how dumb this all is/was, but high testosterone levels don't necessarily mean you're going to be a burly muscly macho man. https://youtu.be/1162ouPHH3Q?si=ZAy5vo3loo0EfYbu&t=84by fredley
- They realised that gender affirming care is something that they were against?by blipvert
- I was very surprised the "we need more white babies" people were pushing a policy that lowers sperm count.by ChiperSoft
- > “Taking testosterone is not going to make you more manly, more strong, or a more robust individual. That’s just not how it works,”
It will make you stronger. Perhaps not at certain therapeutic ranges, but there is a reason this would get you kicked out of the Olympic Games.
by bob1029 - Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? That's exactly what testosterone does, including the "more manly" part. Literally the reason it's gender-affirming care for female-to-male transitioners and aging men. "Robust" is the only word there that's questionable, and even then, I'd say science says "probably". You can give it to a horse, and it will make the horse notably stronger and more “manly”.by petesergeant
- Crazy that a doctor would say taking testosterone would not make you stronger. Remind me to never listen to the American College of Physicians.by nba456_
- Yes, and when you have guys at a FOB that hasn't had a resupply for a while, I'm sure their trt supply will be great. No withdrawal problems at all.by Tostino
- it absolutely does make you stronger, I was training for powerlifting when I started it and my lifts went up a LOT with no change in my routine or diet, both of which I was tracking.
- I think it still depends. More test can also result in more estrogen. There is selection bias in athletes who dope because they're the ones who happen to respond positively to it.
There must be a graveyard of athletes who tried doping and it made them worse lol.
by roncesvalles - I don’t know much about this except that I know perfectly normal or even jacked men with lower than expected testosterone. I suspect messing with hormones based on the results of a test and no actual problems can unnecessarily alter mood.
So my theory—based mostly on conjecture—is that these tests selected people they didn’t expect and the treatments would do more harm than good.
by tyleo - You're giving them too much credit. It's pure incompetence/malfeasance like everything the regime does in the name of "culture wars". Somewhere, some testosterone lab with connections got paid.by josefresco
- Going on injectable testosterone suppresses natural production. It also leads to compensatory feedback effects like an increase in estrogen.
Once you're on it it's very hard to come off it, and the side effects are significant.
by XorNot - I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't understand that testosterone can't be 'supplemented' in the normal sense because of how it operates. If somebody gets a testosterone supplement, your own body will stop producing testosterone. And if you ever stop taking the supplement, your own natural production may never return. So it's often a one-way trip. If you're on t-replacement, you're on t-replacement for life.
An army that would fall to pieces without a constant supply of testosterone supplements is probably not going to be the most effective fighting force.
- There's also the relevant details that we don't live at a time in which being extremely muscular and full of aggressiveness (which is what the testosterone policy was meant to cause) makes one a good soldier. Being healthy and able to exert a lot of physical effort is absolutely needed, but beyond that not much is gained.
To put it mildly, no matter how pumped up with hormones one is, one cannot outrun an explosion (much less a thermobaric one), a sniper firing from hundreds of meters away or, for that matter, a drone swarm. For those kinds of challenge other traits are needed.
And these required traits are dismissed as unimportant, just witness all the extremely competent military personal, including medal recipients, who were dismissed or made to "voluntarily" resign due to stuff that had no bearing whatsoever on whether they were good soldiers or not.
Note: I'm not American and, from the perspective of my country's own national interests, which tend to be at odds with the US's more often than not, it's a good thing the US is doing all of this, since it's making itself weaker. But from a personal perspective, that I find it quite sad, I do. I have too many American friends for me not to worry about what this will cause them on the long run.
by alexgieg - I think it's simpler than that, I think Hanlon's Razor applies here.
Not sure there has been a less capable Secretary of Defence in my lifetime than who they currently have in the role.
Note: not saying less objectionable, I'd put Rumsfeld right alongside for that but as much as I didn't like the man, it was hard to argue he was incapable.
by noir_lord