FORT EUSTIS, Va. – The Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, will be the force’s test of record Oct. 1, but the Army’s top enlisted Soldier says troops will have more time to train for and pass the six-event test — without fear of it negatively impacting their careers during that time.
Despite hold ups caused by COVID-19, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston is confident the long-planned ACFT will stay on track. In addition to the new training timeline, he also announced a handful of other modifications to the test, dubbing it ACFT 2.0.
It’s the same six-event physical fitness test — just an updated version, Grinston said. So even though troops don’t have to pass the test this year, they still have to take the ACFT as scheduled.
“When it’s the test of record, you have to put it into the system of record, and that’s the only requirement right now,” Grinston said. This means the Army won’t take administrative actions against Soldiers for potential ACFT failures.
Potential career impacts like separation, derogatory or referred evaluation reports, and a Soldier’s Order of Merit List standing are all off the table to be negatively impacted due to an ACFT failure.
This news comes as the Army, in response to social distancing guidelines, hit the brakes on all physical fitness tests in March. Although fitness tests slowed down, Army leaders went full-steam ahead to plan how Soldiers will jump from the 40-year-old Army Physical Fitness Test, or APFT, to the new ACFT 2.0.
So what are the changes?
First, for many, the APFT is gone for good. Once testing suspensions are lifted, the only Soldiers required to take an APFT ever again will be troops without a current passing score, the sergeant major confirmed.
“As for everyone else [with a current passing APFT score] — they should start training for the ACFT,” he added.
As far as the evolution of the ACFT, the biggest change for Soldiers is the option to substitute a two-minute plank, once a Soldier has attempted the leg tuck.
The other six events are still locked in; the 3 repetition maximum dead-lift, standing power throw, hand release pushups, leg tuck, 2-mile run, and sprint, drag, carry. The plank is just an interim assessment.
The plank is seen as a transitioning tool for Soldiers jumping from the APFT to the six ACFT events, said Maj. Gen. Lonnie G. Hibbard, the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training commanding general.
Depending on an individual’s physical starting point, switching back to the leg tuck should take “anywhere between six to three months,” Hibbard added, but for now, the plank is an alternative.
Planks are a core muscle-burning exercise, completed by individuals who remain static with their elbows planted to the ground directly beneath the shoulders at a 90-degree angle while maintaining a straight posture.
Plank exercises can be conducted almost anywhere, Hibbard said, and do not require equipment to train for. Under the current COVID-19 conditions, this could be an ideal transitional assessment.
Also, the stationary bike event dropped its initial 15,000-meter standard down to a 12,000-meter standard. Biking is an Alternate Assessment for Soldiers with permanent profiles unable to complete the two-mile run.
Additional changes for fiscal year 2021 also include scoring standards. All Soldiers are challenged to pass the ACFT at the “Gold Standard,” Hibbard confirmed, which is an overall minimum total score of 60.
To pass, all troops are required to meet the moderately challenging “gold standard” instead of the more grueling “grey or black” scoring minimums — typically reserved for harsher, more physically demanding career fields. This standard applies to all Soldiers, regardless of age or gender.
Until COVID-19 hit, “we were seeing vast improvements with the ACFT,” Grinston said, adding the changes to the ACFT promotes a better physical fitness standard that will mirror the physical demands of the Army, while also decreasing injuries and having more effective Soldiers within the ranks.
Weak sauce. It sure looks like they’re using COVID as an excuse for a bunch of Soldiers not being able to do leg tucks.
Or… they’re assessing their needs and implementing/managing changes to mitigate a pandemic that could affect mission readiness and deployment plans for a whole command.
There will always be slippage and those who exploit but let’s not get myopic.
I remember August 2001, the LAST time we were planning to dump the APFT for something better. At least we’re actually doing it this time.
The plank thing was partly a response to COVID, partly a response to the MASSIVE numbers of females failing the leg tuck. Get rid of those females, you say? The Army can’t find able-bodied males who are intellectually, psychologically and PHYSICALLY qualified for accession. Females in Combat Arms is a partly social engineering, MOSTLY a response to MARKET CONDITIONS.
Know this: company grade females are on those bars every other day (I’ve seen it, it’s pretty freakin’ cool), rectifying the same deficits as LEGIONS of males who have been avoiding functional fitness since forever.
The voters have failed to elect officials capable of managing public schools that produce high school graduates that meet the requirements for a 21st century military. Healthy, smart 18 year olds are necessary for national security and they can’t be bought by funneling tax dollars to defense contractors. Speaking of tax dollars for anyone that doesn’t yet buy the new pt test yet, think of the poorly performing service member that couldn’t pass the old pt test, got hurt, and eventually chaptered out. Good chance he is probably collecting service related disability right now. How many men and women are collecting a check frok the VA for the rest of their life because bootcamp failed to prepare them for the physical demands of the military? I don’t know GAO numbers but it must be a huge burden. I am convinced that requiring recruits to pass the new test will ensure a lot less medical seperations in the future and eventually save the bottom line tons, all at the cost of inconveniencing people with trying to find a place to keep kettlebells and a trap bar.
Am I the only one who thinks holding a GOOD plank for two minutes is harder then preforming leg tucks? I would much rather preform leg tucks then a two minute plank.
Planks. Because somehow, the trap bar deadlift, farmer’s carry, buddy drag, granny toss, and push up test don’t test core strength.
We at Marvel Geospatial, provide an ultimate Geospatial Solution with accurate data mapping and management. Our service includes GIS, BIM and LiDAR mounted UAVs.
https://www.marvelgeospatial.com/
We at Marvel Geospatial are a bunch of spammers too cheap to spend the money to get an ad on Soldier Systems that we feel the need to spam comments.
We at Marvel Geospatial are a bunch of spammers too cheap to spend the money to get an ad on Soldier Systems that we feel the need to spam comments.
We at Marvel Geospatial are a bunch of spammers too cheap to spend the money to get an ad on Soldier Systems that we feel the need to spam comments.
We at Marvel Geospatial are a bunch of spammers too cheap to spend the money to get an ad on Soldier Systems that we feel the need to spam comments.
The leg tuck has been a Climbing Drill event for….what, a decade? No excuse for not being able to do a single repetition (excusing injury/profile). #changemymind.