DVIDS – News – RIA Soldiers Take Newly Modified Fitness Test

Arsenal ROCK ISLAND, Illinois – On March 23, the Army unveiled the latest version of the Army’s combat fitness test. This test, after several years of modifications and revisions, will be used for registration starting October 1st.

While the new test begins on April 1, through October 1, it will be considered a diagnostic test for all active-duty soldiers. Reservists and National Guard soldiers will have until April 1, 2023 to prepare for the record test.

“This is not ‘ACFT 4.0,'” said the sergeant. Major Michael Greenstone, Staff Sergeant in the Army, during a town hall in Fort Riley, Kansas, March 22. “It’s ACFT.”

The decision was made to replace the Army’s physical fitness test with the ACFT because the new test better assesses soldiers’ general physical fitness.

According to the ACFT webpage, www.army.mil/ACFT, the ACFT is designed to test soldiers’ muscular strength, endurance, strength, speed, agility, coordination, flexibility, balance, reaction time, and aerobic capacity.

Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, US Army Support Command, took ACFT the week of April 4-8.

According to the regulation, soldiers on active duty are required to take the ACFT twice a year. Soldiers at the ASC undergo their testing in April and October.

“The diagnostic test is to give soldiers a picture of their individual preparedness,” said Major Riley DeLong, HHC, ASC. “It gives soldiers an instant check of their whereabouts, so they can work out their weaknesses before the registration test.”

Once the test becomes a standard test, negative measures such as a ban on enlistment, refusal to promote, or forcing them to leave the military, can be applied if a soldier fails two tests in a row.

The biggest changes to the ACFT are that it is no longer used as a test to prepare soldiers for combat, but as a test to assess their general physical fitness.

Since the test is no longer to determine soldiers’ suitability for combat, some ASC soldiers would like to see the Army perform a second “combat readiness” test, in addition to the ACFT.

“I approach this subject through the lens of the pedestrian,” said the sergeant. 1st Class Jonathan Tindall, Petty Officer Sergeant Major Operations, ASC. “If a soldier meets the minimum standards (in the ACFT), that will be a barrier to fighting force.”

However, Tyndall added that he thought the new changes were a great way to determine the army’s general fitness, but said he believed a separate pass/fail test to assess combat readiness was warranted.

Unlike previous versions of the ACFT, the new version contains different scoring criteria based on the gender and age of the soldier being tested. This is more in line with the criteria also listed by the Old Army’s physical fitness test.

The change from a gender- and age-neutral test to one factor in these things is due to a recommendation from the Rand Corp., a Washington, DC-based think tank that found that nearly half of female recruits tested could not pass the original ACFT test.

Some soldiers, such as Colonel Douglas Moore, an attorney for the High Court for Refugees, welcome a return to age and gender standards.

“This review, more than any other review of the new ACFT, bridges the gap between the old APFT and the ACFT, while allowing for consistency across the military,” Moore said. He also said that focus could be placed on a better assessment of soldiers’ fitness standards.

Under the previous version of the ACFT, all soldiers were required to complete at least three 140-pound lethal lifts. To achieve maximum deadlift, the soldier had to lift 340 pounds, three times. With the new version, the 17-21-year-old soldier will be required to lift at least 120 pounds. To achieve the maximum score, she had to lift 210 pounds three times. Her male counterpart in the same age group will be required to lift 140lbs for the pass and 340lbs for the max.

Leg bends, which tested the soldier’s core strength, have also been eliminated from the ACFT. Its replacement is a slab.

Grinston said the reason for eliminating the leg crease was that a soldier might have good core strength, but not good grip strength, which caused some soldiers to fail the event. The plank gives a more accurate assessment of a soldier’s overall core strength.

Added 2.5 mile-walk as an alternative event to test cardio fitness for soldiers if they have a permanent running profile.
Soldiers can also use a rowing, bike, or swimming test to test their cardio fitness if they are in a permanent profile, which excuses them from running due to injury, and they do not wish to walk, assuming arrangements can be made.