Army must “increase” fitness standards, but can use gender-specific scores
The Army said it's going to meet the new requirement with "analytically driven standards." Congress did not require that scores be gender-neutral.
BY PATTY NIEBERG | PUBLISHED DEC 14, 2023 5:57 PM EST
Congress has tasked the Army with implementing “increased” fitness standards for soldiers most likely to see combat, but it’s unclear whether different fitness standards will soon apply to men and women.
A measure in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which sets policy and directs funding for the Pentagon, calls for the Army Secretary to implement “increased minimum fitness standards” as part of the Army Combat Fitness Test.
The new rules come as the latest in years of debate and changes to the ACFT, first introduced in 2017.
The House and Senate passed an agreed upon version of the NDAA which is now headed to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
Over the next 18 months, the Army will be required to increase ACFT standards for soldiers in certain combat arms military occupational specialties like infantry, Special Forces and artillery. The service said it plans to use data to figure out what that looks like.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/congress-tells-army-increase-fitness-standards/
