Army Combat Fitness Test
The Army is changing it’s fitness requirements – even the name is changing from the Army Physical Fitness Test to the Army Combat Fitness Test, according to United Press International;
The new standards call for deadlift tests, throwing ten-pound balls for distance backwards, and hand-release pushups that require hands to be taken off the ground for greater muscle tension. It also includes sled drags to simulate casualties, sprints with 40-pound kettle bells, hanging from a pull-up bar with legs up and the standard 2-mile run.
“Throughout that research and testing, the goal was to provide our leaders with a tough, realistic, field-expedient assessment of the physical component of their soldiers’ individual readiness,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey said in a press release. “The ACFT is scientifically validated and will help better prepare our soldiers to deploy, fight and win on any future battlefield.”
More than 2,000 soldiers have already taken the new test.
“This is a generational, cultural change in fitness for the United States Army, and will be a cornerstone of individual soldier combat readiness,” Army Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost, commander of the Army’s Center of Initial Military Training, told the Military Times. “That’s how big this is for the Army.”
Thanks to David for the link.
Category: Army News
Do you want to know what is REALLY happening here?
The Army is trying to reinvent the wheel, just because. There is no reason whatsoever to change the APFT.
Yef, you ought to know by now that people who get into management have to justify their position’s existence or BOOM! They’re gone.
That’s your first lesson in beer.
I disagree. The APFT is stupid. Running in soft shoes and shorts, plus FOUR minutes of calisthenics. A scrawny runt can max the APFT and still not be able to lift anything that matters. Adding weights, hangs, and drags is a step in the right direction. It should also include a foot march with 15 minute mile pace like every Army school has.
the AAS ruck march comes to mind, in particular.
Back in the 60’s and 70’s there was no taking the test in shorts and athletic shoes. It was always done in fatigues and combat boots. The low crawl and the grenade throw were particularly apropos for combat readiness evals. During the summer months, in the 10th SFGA our morning PT also included a mile and a half swim three days a week. Naturally, the SCUBA team always smoked the rest of us, but at least I wasn’t the last one out of the water.
I agree and yet we still had guys in Basic that failed. I always thought the test was bullshit and people should have to do something that simulated what they might have to actually do.
So…what are the female standards going to be?
jonp:
According to the article, standards will be the same for male and female as well as age.
Yef, gonna disagree hard with you. the current APFT is a meaningless pile of bullshit as far as soldier readiness. being able to run 2 miles, do x number of situps, and x number of pushups does nothing to measure real combat stress and physical readiness, which often involves weight and short bursts of running. running steady paced 2 milers is great for running steady paced 2 milers. add on 65+ pounds of combat gear and weaponry and moving like that equals stress fractures and busted joints. so train your body for the hazards you know you’ll face, not for points on a test. this test looks like it’s going to focus on several muscle groups, particularly core, and that’s pretty good.
further, you know a test is total and utter bullshit when the command focuses on a soldier’s 2 mile run time for promotion more than they focus on his education, experience, knowledge, or leadership abilities.
as an aside, we appear to have FAR too many generals. can anybody tell me why we need a “commander for the center for initial military training?” or for that matter, an AAFES commander? want to know how to train a bunch of soldiers to good fighting physical condition? ask any one of these sadistic fucks, er, pumpkin patches I mean, and you’ll have your answers.
“ many armies in the past commissioned 10% of their number, or even 15%—and sometimes a preposterous 20%! This sounds like a fairy tale but it was a fact, especially during the 20th century. What kind of an army has more “officers” than corporals? (And more non-coms than privates!) An army organized to lose wars —if history means anything. An army that is mostly organization, red tape, and overhead, most of whose “soldiers” never fight. But what do “officers” do who do not command fighting men? Fiddlework, apparently—officers’ club officer, morale officer, athletics officer, public information officer, recreation officer, PX officer, transportation officer, legal officer, chaplain, assistant chaplain, junior assistant chaplain, officer-in-charge of anything anybody can think of, even—nursery officer! In the M. I., such things are extra duty for combat officers or, if they are real jobs, they are done better and cheaper and without demoralizing a fighting outfit by hiring civilians. But the situation got so smelly in one of the 20th century major powers that real officers, ones who commanded fighting men, were given special insignia to distinguish them from the swarms of swivel-chair hussars.“
Quote Attribution — Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers…
… and from the same…
“ — to the everlasting glory of
the infantry , shines the name, shines the name of Rodger Young /”
When Trump talked about draining the swamp, I wish he’d direct that to the military’s many swamps, like Army Human Resources Command. The bureaucracies are so fat, wasteful, abusive of their power, and a hindrance, it is ridiculous.
“further, you know a test is total and utter bullshit when the command focuses on a soldier’s 2 mile run time for promotion more than they focus on his education, experience, knowledge, or leadership abilities.”
Jimmy Hotel, what unit is this that focused on the APFT score over all the other req for promotion?
Every unit I have been, the CoC looks at all the skillz of the candidates for promotion, and use the APFT as the tie breaker.
But one thing I will never do, is to recommend for promotion a fat ass that cannot ace an APFT. I don’t care how much education you have, to lead Soldiers in combat you have to be physically fit. Choose a diff MOS if you want to be Army Fat.
jimmy hotel? fix yourself.
to answer your question, Yef, the PT test is such an institution that when looking through promotions, somebody’s PT studliness is a factor weighted more heavily than any other qualification. either on paper or in the minds of those doing the promoting, and that’s a mistake. its points are currently weighted beyond soldierly education, awards and decorations, civilian schooling, and even commanders points.
being an ace at a PT test and middle of the pack means nothing. training, experience, and knowledge of one’s job (and those above and below, not to mention extra skills) is more important than a run score. my point was across the Army, not MOS specific. further, your response is typical of what I’m referring to. you’re so entrenched in this current PT test mode that you fail to see the benefit of actual exercise beyond the 3 station setup they have now.
to a broader point, let me explain this so that even you can understand it: you can fix fat. you can fix ignorant. you can’t fix people who don’t have a drive to lead men, either in combat or in garrison.
From where did you get the idea that I only do push ups, sit ups, and run?
I do a full body workout rotating muscle groups.
The APFT is an easy day. You only do 3 exercises and for 2 minutes the first two and then less than 16 minutes for the 2-miler. Easy day.
I have never been in a unit where the PT plan only includes the 3 tested events.
What people are trying to say Yef, is that just because you can do push-ups, sit-ups and run 2 miles doesn’t mean you are actually in shape.
It simply means you can do push-ups, sit-ups, and run 2 miles.
BCT starts troops off horribly because they train IET to 50% and that’s their goal. Getting them to be able to do 50% on the APFT, then at AIT they train them up to 60%. In essence, they train them to take the test, not to get them in shape.
Just because you’re a physical adonis who can do push-ups on your fingernails with a buick on your back, doesn’t mean the rest of the army is that way.
And, that PRT bullshit REALLY didn’t help the Army’s physical fitness situation either. Not only did physical fitness decrease, injuries increased as I recall. (Another “scientific” physical training effort.)
Amen, Amen, AMEN and AMEN!
Well, having taken many different physical tests for fire departments, I have seen ones that are scientifically based, and ones that are just historical… So, the first thing I’d ask is how does the failure rate of this new test compare to the old one. A true scientifically based test for combat should have the same, or a higher initial failure rate, because the tasks described above should be more difficult than just push-up and sit-ups.. it also “appears” to be more applicable… I guess we’ll see
Dahlin’, if you knew what silly PT tests women had to pass in the 1960s, you’d fall down laughing.
Fair enough Ex, fair enough
We all know because the Air Force uses those for PT testing today.
This is stupid.
Ok, you train for war, you train to standard, to get a go in all the warrior tasks and drills, but that is totally completely diff from an APFT. which is not for measuring your task and drill proficiency, but to measure your physical prowess and ability to execute those tasks.
These people are holdovers from Zer0bama, I bet, and their goal is to have a gender neutral physical test rather than make us a better fighting force.
Yef? Yef?? I know this is tough, but there just might be folks here, and even in the US Army, that know more about this topic than do you.
As long as there is some correlation to tasks, fitness tests should indeed be difficult. How else are you going to decide who is ready for combat? Send them into combat, then call those who die trying unfit? What about their battle buddies who were fit but didn’t make it because the unfit guy in front of them got in the way?
No, I don’t know if this specific test is an improvement. There are others here upon whom I will rely for that judgement. But certainly, the test needs to measure survivability as well as such a guestimate can be made. There is, never has been, and never will be a perfect test but that should be no excuse to not continue to tweak the test so that it best reflects operational needs.
plus, it’s (current APFT) geared towards certain types. sure, your airborne guys who are generally thin and fast do quite well. they fly around the test area. some even manage to bang out a few pushups and situps along the way. the focus now is, and always has been, the run. to the detriment of the soldiers and their core muscles.
but then you’ve got bigger guys who can push and sit forever but struggle on the run times (just looking to pass vs the 6 minute guys) because their body types are better with upper body than cardio. training is important, but weight, mass, and gravity get a vote too.
im not giving them a pass; I usually maintained a steady figure, 6’1 and 225 throughout. I got flagged ALL THE TIME. but I never failed the tape test; I could push and sit all morning but running sucked, no matter how much I did it. same with a few other guys in my units along the way. but they could (and did) hump lots of weight around when it mattered, and didn’t succumb to strange injuries as much.
in standard conversations, you’ll always measure these guys against PT studs and freaks of nature. but your average tanker, mechanized infantryman, or similar isn’t on the same body frame as your standard 82nd AB guy, Ranger, or long tabber. guys that lift a lot generally struggle on the run. runners generally struggle on the muscle endurance. running isn’t everything. a total body test is a better option, and I’m glad to see some forward thinking the Army…for once.
Oh pleezz.
Excuses. I had several of the proverbial big guys who can’t run but can lift a ton, and they suck at life going up and down the hills in The Afgh of the Stan.
I don’t care how much you can lift, if you are going to slow down my platoon and at the end we are going to carry your ass back to the COP.
Besides, there are plenty of big guys that run very fast, so don’t give me the big fat boy excuse to suck at PT.
Yef I honestly can’t tell if you are a troll or sincere. I’m starting to lean rather strongly towards troll though.
Someone who was sincere and basing his comments about the value of the APFT on experiences in the hills of A-Stan is more likely to be decrying it’s effectivness than singing its virtues.
As a contractor Afghanistan smoked me for the first two months of my time there. And I’m one of those 270+ PT studs you reference in another post.
I also watched super pt studs from 3rd ranger bat get wrecked by that place. I watched men from the 82nd airborne struggle up and down the hills using their m4’s as canes and walking sticks. It took weeks at best before anyone was in shape for that shithole.
ok, superstar. what you call “excuses” I call “reality” Yef. now, i’ll spot you that I can’t speak to the ‘stan, because I did my time in iraq, and I’m not going to speak about that which I don’t know. what I do know, is that the push/sit/run test is not even remotely connected with combat fitness. we are dealing with an Army who is discovering that body stress under load of battle rattle and maneuver engagements is not replicated in a 3 station test. that current 3 station test does more to show who is ready for pushing, sitting, and running more than who is ready to go to actual combat. it’s great for TOC rangers. it’s pointless to actual measurements of a soldier’s ability to endure physical strain beyond 15 minutes at a time.
body types are different, which is a fact of life. im not saying all big guys cant run, and I even highlighted that in my response above. im saying that different body types are better at different physical tasks, and this test seeks to find out – apparently – who is ready to do combat oriented tasks, and who is not.
And in Afghanistan I was humping up and down hills with 20 year old Cav Troopers and Infantry who had trouble keeping up with my old broken ass because they weren’t ready to walk up a hill. But hey! They could pass that APFT, no problem!
The APFT Test isn’t a test of if you’re in shape to go into combat or not. The PT Test is a test to see if you can do some push-ups, some sit-ups, and run 2 miles. Period.
You can defend it all you want, but it doesn’t test true physical fitness.
Who is ready for combat?
I tell you who is. The ones that get a a first time go in all warrior tasks and drills, the ones that train to standard and pass all the qualifications. The fire teams that ace the fire team qual FTX, then squad, platoon, company, battalion, and finally the whole dam brigade at JRTC or the NTC.
The APFT is to measure your physical readiness, just like the weapons qual measures your proficiency with your assigned weapon (marksmanship readiness), and is a pre-req to get your unit qualified and certified to deploy.
I find ridiculous the idea that fitness test should focus on combat readiness instead of physical readiness. We got plenty of test already that specifically targets a soldier,s and a unit’s requirements to deploy.
Sometimes good enough, is good enough. The APFT likely falls into that category. If I tested a company of joes tomorrow on the APFT then tested the same company on wednesday using the ACFT, the top and bottom 5%,10%, 25%, and 50% would be the same folks. Do I really need to spend a boatload of money to tell me the same thing?
Exactly.
Gonna have to disagree with you here Luddite, I bet the folks in those different percentages would be vastly different, based on the points Jim H makes, as well as having seen different physical ability tests in both Army and Fire Service (dating back to the 80’s in case anyone is wondering) While I one day hope to be as knowledgeable on all subjects as Yef is, I’d bet it’s safe to say that I’ve been doing such tests (and continue to do them on at least an annual basis) since before he was born…
Wow… there’s a whole ton of asshurt in your comments, Yef. Sound like the people in charge (they are the strategic thinkers/managers) are trying to make the test more realistic to what those in the trenches do.
Would you want feel confident that your Battle Buddy or any other Soldier in your unit are able to carry you away if you were to fall in battle? I know that I would.
Time to start training to the new standard, Yef.
Of course there is asshurt.
I work really hard to max out the APFT, and now this assclowns want to change it to accommodate fat boys and slow asses.
There is no effing excuse to not max out, or near max out, an APFT. If you can get over 270, you will do very well to everything you do in the Army.
If you suck at life, that is your friggin problem. I wake up early every day, whether I have a formation or not, to do PT because PT is a way of life, not something you do to score high in some test.
You’re making me want to re-enlist with all that hooah.
I feel nauseous from all that motard Hooah.
Yef, only one teaspoon of Hooah, dissolved in water, per day. If you keep on snorting it straight, you’ll end up enlisting in the Marines!
Just because you can do 270 or better on the APFT doesn’t mean you are a solid all-around Soldier. The unfortunate fact is many leaders think that the only thing that counts is that high APFT score.
I’ve met too many PT studs that were dumb as a bag of hammers in the over two decades I’ve been doing this Army stuff. How did they get into those positions? Because they were good at PT! The APFT is just one part of the total Soldier, but too many leaders hold a PT score as the pinnacle of of what a Soldier should be.
And, shit changes. I’ve been through 6 different f’n camouflage uniforms. SIX. I’ve been through 3 different sets of dress uniforms, if they implement that pinks n’ greens BS, that’ll be 4. Also, 3 different PT uniforms. We waste so much money on uniforms it is disgraceful, but we keep doing it. Why? Because shit changes.
And again, the PT test doesn’t show physical fitness. It shows whether someone can do push-ups, sit-ups, and run 2 miles. Plain n’ simple.
Yef, as a guardsman I am already dreading having to take this. I got a 275 in the 28+ age category last year and I’m afraid of how low my score will sink with the new test.
BUT I know that these events are a vast improvement in testing the physical readiness required in combat. Running, sit-ups, and push-ups have 0 practical application on the battlefield. Throwing, lifting, dragging stuff, and sprinting actually do. The only reason we have stuck to the three event APFT for so long is because it’s cheap and easy to administer, and sorta gauges someone’s fitness level if you’re being charitable. This test will actually evaluate someone’s strength in an applicable way and be a wake-up call for those scrawny sticks with the 300+ scores, but 20 min/mile rucking times. So while I am afraid of it right now, I am looking forward to it at the same time for the improvement it will bring across the force.
PS: Isn’t gender neutrality something you guys have always been bitching about? Like how the women always have it easier, wahwahwah? Well guess what, they’re also making it age neutral, so the generals and colonels won’t be able to squeak by anymore either.
How is that a bad thing?
With 275 you got nothing to worry about. They are trying to do this thing gender neutral, so they are starting with a low standard.
Big Army is not going to risk losing females soldiers over this. About 15% of the Army are females, we cannot function if we lose them.
Haha exactly. This isn’t an improvement. It’s a shift towards lowering requirements by changing the tasks and using equipment that isn’t readily available which means even less people are going to be able to condition for the events. It’s stupid.
I am trying to remember a time when throwing a ten pound weight backwards ever occurred, much less was a critical skill.
PH2 – just seeing the old female pushup from the knees is enough to make me laugh even today.What other idiocy was there?
True on the weight David, but it seems like a reasonable simulation for locking your hands for another soldier to step into, as you boost them over a wall… As others have said, I have no idea if this will end up being an improvement, but if you look at a test fairly, without bias, you can sometimes see how the actions would be applicable, even if it’s not the exact action from the real world. A reasonable simulation can be a good thing..
Other test exercises included flat on your back on the floor, touch toe of one foot across body e.g., left foot) to opposite hand (e.g., right hand). Some of the senior females were excused from it owing to their dress size.
Another was jumping rope for five minutes, and doing 10 girlie pushups. I’ve seen film of the WWII WAAF pilot trainees and their “gym exercises” were much more like today’s standards, including unassisted chin-ups.
The Scots have a competition to throw a weight over a bar just behind one, and over one’s head.
It originated, I believe, in the need to throw a weight on a rope over the top of a wall in order to scale the wall.
Helping a buddy over the gate to get to the bad guys sounds like a similar skill.
Useless, pointless change in policy for no obvious reason? Isn’t it sweet? We just watched a lieutenant colonel get his wings.
And as soon as he go them, he started looking for that first star. Lots of asses out there, so many to kiss, so little time.
the only pt test that should ever be used is a 20 mile hump with full combat load. if you can do that you can do anything you will ever need to do in combat. yes, you too airborne!
that’s a free beer for you, brother!
They have had that hump at Ranger School forever. Except that the cadre won’t tell you whether it will be 19 miles, 23 or something in between. To simulate the combat load, a 35 pound sandbag went in your ruck with the rest of your gear and water.
I think the pull up test is out the window due to the lowered standards for I hate to say it but I will because gender neutral means lower the standards for women. I’ll get a lot of flack for saying that but I see these same things happening in the civilian civil service jobs over the years. So give me all the flack you want, I won’t cry.
If the flak is thick, your probably over the target
I do not like it but then again I do not hate it either.
You mixed the basics with gay crossfit nonsense. I think it might work out but I dunno.
I hate the current APFT with the passion of a thousand burning suns. It’s over reliied upon as a measure of a soldiers quality and does not reflect the actual physical requirements of combat.
As a drill sergeant candidate I had the opportunity to see and participate in this new test, and while it is more respective of combat demands it has way too many problems with its administration, implementation, and equipment requirments.
With its complexity will come injury due to short cuts being taken (such as using a barbell rather than trap bar) and the constantly running clock kills proper exercise form.
Seriously, make the Combat Test:
Zero your rifle
10k ruck march for time to qual range
1 min of body armor burpees
1 min or body armor rowers
10y sprint to the firing line (probe supported)
20y sprint (10y out and back) to the firing line (prone unsupported)
20y sprint (10y out and back) to the firing line (kneeling)
The faster you get your sprints done the more time you have to get into your firing position…
Seems to me that if this is a test of physical fitness, then the people who are in physical training for combat should obviously be passes through. Those who should not be passed through should be desk jockeys and coffee mess hounds (all admin people) because they’re less likely to be fit in the first place.
since the Army co-opted the Marines Corps idea that “Every Marine is a rifleman” after the screw up with jessica lynch and her unit, it should be for everyone (Airborne & Chairborne included. tankers, not so much i guess)
Well, the worst part of that was Jessica Lynch was in a maintenance unit who’s weapons weren’t being properly maintained. So, how many combat units don’t do combat well?
Young Bulls and their pissing contests about fitness. I’m old and just getting up to piss at night is a combat load in itself.
Amen 26! And I do too damned many reps every night!
No argument from me either.
I see all the new stuff required for this test and immediately have to wonder which general’s son-in-law is in the sports equipment industry and going to make millions off the Army?
“…which general’s son-in-law is in the sports equipment industry and going to make millions off the Army?”
Simple answer: None. Just another Urban Legend.
We can only hope it’s more urban legend than the millions spent for multiple versions of new camo!
Amen, Calypso Facto!
😉
One of the pluses of the old apt was no special equipment required, just a flat stretch of terrain and a stopwatch, it was designed to b taken eVen if deployed for an extended period.
I was also always amazed at the number of skinny guys who failed situps
Gender neutral = lower requirements = easier.
Physical fitness tests aren’t supposed to get troops conditioned for combat but rather just provide a base line for the minimum fitness to continue employment. This sounds like the army thinks this test will provide physically more capable troops but like all tests it just makes people condition for a set standard. No way can I believe this will increase fitness what so ever and instead is being used as a means to low requirements to be inclusive of all 36 genders. The more items and events put into a physical standard test also is determental to people that want to condition for it as well.
Saw the physical requirements of some police department in Florida recently and it was a whole obstacle course which one can’t even practice. That type of shit is stupid.
Hey Hey Hey! There are 74 different genders buddy! Get it right!
Wait, or was it 75? I can’t keep up, it changes from week to week.
I’ve been taking the army’s PT test since 1986 and I currently plan to retire in about three years. I can’t tell you how many times they’ve spun up “the new PT test” in the Army Times (about as many as “the new rifle” and “the new uniform.” I, for one, think the army is past due for a change to the APFT,but I’m not sure that this is it. It does look more relevant but way too complex to administer. And I don’t want to have to learn how to max a new test.
Lets see, 200? (I want to say 2006 here) UBRR, 2011 Army Physical Readiness Test, 2012 ACRT, 2017 OPAT + SRT (not really APFT, but still…)
This new test is gonna be hell on old broken farts like me. Time to upgrade my home gym and double the Celebrex.
Wait, what? The Army has a fitness test?
My biggest concern is where will they get the big heavy balls from to throw.
I have Bigly Huge Balls but do I have to give them a reach around?
Just like the Army to practice throwing things in retreat, forward men…always thrust your balls forward.
No wonder they can’t get laid.
I was never impressed the current APFT. I’ve seen too many 300+ score heroes that couldn’t hang with the 200 or less scores in the field. I had a 45 Soldier platoon of cable dogs in Iraq (2008), had a couple 300 studs and a couple of struggle-to-passers, everybody else was pretty average. Every one of them could work their asses off all day every day. 1SG quit bitching about their APFT scores after he spent a half day working with them.
It takes my company from 0600, till lunchtime did minister the APFT to 147 Soldiers.
This monstrosity of a test is going to take a whole day or have to be broken up into two days.
But hey, it’s a new shiny PT test who cares how much work it puts on the commander, the first sergeant, the platoon leaders in platoon sergeant’s !
I cant figure out where they are going to get all the graders they need for this. The continously running clock means each participant needs a grader at each event for an hour. Figure each platoon is issued enough kit to test 16 people at a time…yeah its gonna take all day and then some.
When we did it at Benning we didnt have the running clock restriction and it still took half a day to ge,t a bct platoon through.
Oh come on, you say that like you already have 40 hours worth of stuff to do in a 24 hour day as it is…..
Stupid autocorrect , “did minister” was supposed to be administer
The advantage of the present test, and why it was adopted, is that there were no special equipment requirements. The test could be given anywhere. No horizontal ladders of sledges required
Being able to climb a rope, up and down, about 40′, is a pretty good show of strength.
The confidence course stuff always pestered me. It is one thing to walk on a railroad tie when it is on the ground. When the railroad tie is 12 feet up requires more confidence than I generally have had.
Having to carry something heavy in a wooden box, as a team effort, is hard work.
Running in combat boots was never one of my favorite things. With the new era of custom formed inner sole pads it might be better than the liners we had in the early 70s. Still, running with boots beats the hell of trying to run barefoot.
ghey