The minimum height for the Armed Forces is falling, and some diseases are no longer grounds for exclusion.

The minimum height for entry into the Armed Forces has dropped to 1.54 meters for men and women, and some chronic illnesses are no longer automatically excluded, the Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Department of National Defense said it had completed the process of reviewing the physical and sensory criteria for military service, which are now defined in the new “General Tables of Capacity and Capacity”, formerly called the “General Tables of Disability and Capacity”. disability.

One of the main changes noted is the fact that the minimum height for general entry into the Armed Forces is now 1.54 meters, the same for men and women, and the maximum height has also been abolished.

Previously, there were four minimum heights for general admission: 1.64 for men and 1.60 for women, “when intended for courses at military academies and the Naval Academy”, and otherwise the minimum height was 1.60 for men and 1 .56 for women.

Now, according to the ministry, the height is standardized for general use, but later may vary depending on specific functions, which will require different criteria, which, in addition to height, may include other characteristics.

“In addition to updating the requirements, there is also a paradigm shift. We are moving to a model that establishes uniform general conditions for military service in the Armed Forces, regardless of branch and class, weapon, service or specialty. Thus, only certain specific functions will have different criteria, additionally determined by the branches of the Armed Forces, and this process continues,” the message explains.

In addition to this change, according to the government, “a large number of chronic diseases are no longer a reason for automatic exclusion” of candidates such as “type 2 diabetes not receiving insulin therapy, thyroid dysfunction and other endocrinological disorders”, which are now subject to individual analysis by a medical commission, as in the case of HIV infection.

A commitment to comply with the National Vaccination Plan was also included, criteria relating to “visual acuity and color vision” were expanded, and “a new chapter on dentistry was included.” [especialidade médica que trata doenças do sistema dentário]which was not in previous tables,” the statement said.

According to the Ministry of National Defence, this update will expand the pool of candidates for the Armed Forces and “facilitate the necessary adaptation of these requirements to the current reality”, since “it is generally agreed that young people in this environment represent a different universe from the one assessed by the now repealed standards last revised in 2001.”

The trustee emphasizes that the completed review took into account the evolution of the tasks performed by the military and the development of scientific knowledge, as well as the standards of the World Health Organization.

“The structure of the tables has been simplified to make them easier to interpret and use. And the measures currently being implemented take into account the provisions of the Action Plan for the Professionalization of the Military Service and the National Defense Equality Plan (2022-2025),” added.