The Pentagon confirmed a new mandatory testosterone screening protocol for submarine crews this week, requiring sailors to complete a hormone panel before clearing them for deployments lasting up to ninety days in a sealed vessel with no natural light and a fixed rotating cast of coworkers. A department memo describes the measure as “aggression risk management,” and notes that results will be filed alongside — not instead of — the standard psychological fitness review.

Sailors describe the new intake form as “oddly personal for a boat,” citing questions about mood, sleep, and “recent feelings of territoriality regarding the torpedo room.” One crew member said he was told his results were “within normal range, but flagged for monitoring,” without further explanation of what, specifically, would be monitored, or by whom, for the next three months, underwater.

A Pentagon spokesperson said the program is “proactive, not punitive,” and that a follow-up screening is already scheduled for the moment the submarine resurfaces.