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The Army announced its fitness test will undergo several changes designed to improve Soldier fitness, combat readiness and lethality, according to a Monday press release.
The Army Fitness Test will be the “official physical fitness test of record,” replacing the Army Combat Fitness Test.
Upon implementation, men and women will be required to meet the same scoring standards for 21 combat military occupational specialties.
“For those 21 [military occupational specialties] they will all be graded on the male scale, so it will be sex neutral,” Command Sgt. Maj. JoAnn Naumann told Task & Purpose. “The passing score for most people will be a 300 with a minimum of 60 in every event. For those in those 21 specialties, the passing score will be 350 with a minimum of 60 in every event.”
Five events will comprise the AFT: the three-repetition maximum deadlift, hand-release push-up army extension, sprint-drag-carry, plank, and two-mile run.
The changes to the ACFT were influenced by a RAND Corporation analysis and Army data, per the release.
The AFT — held annually for Army Guardsmen and Reservists — will not include the standing power throw.
The discarded event test that involves throwing a 10-pound medicine ball backward and overhead for distance is one of the test components of the ACFT that RAND said showed “strong associations with future injury.”
The RAND report can be found here.
The AFT combat standard is gender-neutral and age-normed, while the general standard is performance-normed by gender and age groups, the Army said in its release.
Phased implementation of the AFT begins June 1, 2025, with the new standards effective June 1, 2026, for the Guard and Reserves. The standards for those on active duty begin Jan. 1, 2026.
Implementation guidance and associated execution orders will be released next month.
─ By Jennifer Hickey
