Troops recruited to watch White House UFC event must be fit, slim and wear short sleeves, pay their own way

Pentagon recruiting troops to watch White House UFC fights, memos show
Internal messages reviewed by The Post stipulate that military personnel must pay for their travel and meet strict physical requirements to be eligible.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/29/pentagon-recruiting-troops-watch-white-house-ufc-fights-memos-show/


The Pentagon is moving to recruit hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting event at the White House, and requiring those who attend to pay for their travel and meet height and weight requirements, according to people familiar with the matter and internal memos reviewed by The Washington Post.
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The Defense Department in recent days has solicited volunteers across the services to attend the June 14 event in uniform. Officials are seeking junior enlisted personnel and junior officers specifically, according to internal messages that make clear travel costs will be “member-procured,” meaning neither the Defense Department nor the UFC intends to pay for their arrangements or accommodations.

Junior troops make up the military’s lowest pay grades.
One memo, circulated within the Air Force, stipulates that to be eligible, personnel “MUST MEET CURRENT WAIST-HEIGHT RATIO and current physical fitness standard.” Troops will be required to wear their short-sleeve dress uniforms, the memo adds.

Another message posted on a social media page popular with troops touched on similar themes, calling the effort to identify troops to attend the White House event a “quick-turn tasking.”
“Tickets must be distributed to genuine UFC fans, not solely to high-ranking DVs,” the message said, referring to distinguished visitors.

A White House spokesman, Davis Ingle, did not dispute that there is a search underway for service members who can attend the event.
“This will be one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary,” Ingle said in a statement.