The Army's Fitness Standards May Shift in 2025. But How Much Tougher Will They Be?
Military.com | By Steve Beynon
Published December 31, 2024 at 2:10 pm
The Army is poised to recalibrate its fitness standards, redefining the physical expectations for combat-arms roles in 2025. Yet, where those minimum requirements will ultimately land remains an open question -- one that could present an early test for President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Army leadership.
The proposed changes stem from a congressionally mandated study conducted by Rand Corp., which examined the performance of 44,000 conventional ground combat soldiers, including infantry and cavalry scouts. The study, released in December, explored the feasibility of raising the minimum passing score for the Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, to 450 points, a substantial increase from the current threshold of 360. The maximum possible score is 600.
However, preliminary results suggest that a 450-point standard, which service officials directed Rand to examine, may be overly ambitious. According to separate internal data obtained by Military.com, the current minimum allows 98% of active-duty male soldiers and 95% of their female counterparts to pass the test. Raising the bar to 450 would cut those rates -- dropping the pass rate to 94% for active-duty men and 90% for women, and below 75% for National Guard soldiers on average, Rand found.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/12/31/army-poised-raise-fitness-standards-combat-arms-troops-2025.html
