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Secretary of Army approves revised Combat Fitness Test
Christine E. Wormuth, Secretary of the Army, formally spelled out the time-line on which the Army would roll out its newly revised general physical fitness test. The new ACFT was developed using Soldier feedback and test performance analysis from independent annalists.
Key changes to the revised ACFT include
new age-normed and gender-normed scoring scales
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the plank to replace the leg tuck for core-strength assessment
the addition of the 2.5-mile walk as an alternate aerobic event
Pictured above are the ACFT’s six events and an outline of the time-line in which the revised ACFT will be implemented. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
Secretary Wormuth said of the revised, “The ACFT is an essential part of maintaining the readiness of the Army as we transform into the Army of 2030″. She continued, “The revisions to the ACFT are based on data and analysis, including an independent assessment required by congress.”
One of the concerns addressed by Army annalists and the RAND study was that a gender-integrated test would not accurately assess the Soldiers’ strength and agility in the specific area that an event intended to assess.
For example, the hanging leg tuck was designed to assess the Soldier’s core strength. This assessment, RAND expressed, might not be fair to female Soldiers who might have sufficient core strength but lack the upper body strength to score well on the event. For that reason, the leg tuck was replaced by the plank.
Wormuth said, “We will continue to assess our implementation of the test to ensure it is fair and achieves our goal of strengthening the Army’s fitness culture.”
The Army will begin running diagnostic ACFT on April 1st. Starting on October 1st, the Army will be begin administering the ACFT for record, retention, and entry standards. While after October 1st, Regular Army Soldiers can be flagged and barred from re-enlistment, awards, and other favorable actions, Soldiers will not be separated from service for failing the ACFT until April of 2023.
