Army Secretary Nominee Has Concerns About Implications of Combat Fitness Test on WomenKristina Wong 13 May 2021
Christine Wormuth, the Army secretary nominee, said Thursday at her confirmation hearing she is concerned about the implications of the Army’s test for combat fitness for retaining women.
The latest iteration of the test, officially known as the Army Combat Fitness Test, was launched earlier this year and a recent report showed nearly half of the women who take it fail.
“Internal Army figures from April show 44% of women failed the ACFT, compared to 7% of men since Oct. 1. ‘Female soldiers continue to lag male soldier scores in all events,’ according to a United States Army Forces Command briefing,” Military.com reported.
The failure rate for women is actually an improvement from previous rates, when one of the events of the test was a “legtuck” — an exercise where one hangs from a bar and touches the elbows to knees. After women failed that event at high rates, the Army offered a two-minute plank option.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, raised the issue at the hearing:
I remain very concerned about the retention issues posed by the Army fitness test. Mainly its effects on retaining women and those with specialty roles like our JAGs, medical personnel, cyber warriors, which is why I pushed for provision in the last [National Defense Authorization Act] to pause and have the test independently evaluated.
She added:
May I have your commitment that you will keep me and my staff appraised on the results of this independent study and I can also have your commitment that the Department of Army will be fully transparent in sharing any necessary data and information with me and my office regarding ACFT?
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https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/05/13/army-secretary-nominee-concerns-about-implications-combat-fitness-test-women/
