Army tweaks its “tape test”

Mar 14 2023 Staff Writer

The United States Army has decided to stick to its controversial and much-criticized fitness test known as the “tape test,” despite calls to replace it with a more accurate and inclusive alternative.

The tape test, which measures a soldier’s body fat percentage, has been widely criticized for its potential to discriminate against female soldiers, and soldiers with certain body types.

In response to the criticism, the Army has made some minor tweaks to the tape test but these changes are seen by many as cosmetic, rather than substantive, and fail to address the fundamental flaws of the test.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Proposals now under review could provide a more accurate tape test and give soldiers a body fat exemption if they score a 540 or better on the ACFT:<a href="https://t.co/wB6LyVELP9">https://t.co/wB6LyVELP9</a></p>— Military Times (@MilitaryTimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/MilitaryTimes/status/1633943226490175488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Critics argue that the tape test is not an accurate measure of a soldier’s fitness or readiness for combat, as it does not take into account factors such as muscle mass, strength, or endurance. Furthermore, the tape test has been shown to be unreliable and prone to errors, with soldiers sometimes receiving drastically different results when tested by different personnel.

While the Army does have the capacity to “scan” some Soldiers under certain circumstances, the scan is far too expensive to implement as a first measure in determining a Soldier’s readiness. Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston said of the body scanner:

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“I do call it the heartbreaker. I thought I was much leaner than I was. And I got on the [scanner], and it broke my heart. So I have a little bit more body fat than I really want.”

Despite these concerns, Army officials have defended the tape test as a necessary tool for maintaining military readiness and combat effectiveness. They have also argued that developing a new test would be time-consuming and expensive.

Critics, however, say that the Army’s continued use of the “tape test” sends a message that the Army values financial matters rather than human issues. They are calling on the Army to develop a new, more inclusive fitness test that takes into account the full range of factors that contribute to a soldier’s physical readiness. Until then, Soldiers will have to continue living with the flawed tape test, with only minor tweaks to improve its accuracy.