Army’s New Combat Fitness Test: Here’s What To Know About The Changes

The U.S. Army has updated its physical assessment for soldiers to help “strengthen readiness and lethality.”

On April 21, the Army published a press release on its website announcing that the traditional Army Combat Fitness Test will be replaced this spring with a new health and fitness evaluation called the Army Fitness Test. The significant change resulted from research findings gathered by the Army from almost one million soldiers and data from the global research organization RAND Corporation.

The Army’s new fitness test emphasizes ‘sex-neutral’ scoring

According to the press release, the AFT was designed to be “sex-neutral and age-normed.” The performance test includes five key events: the three-rep max deadlift, hand-release push-up with arm extension, sprint-drag-carry drill, plank hold and a two-mile run. During a recent interview with Task & Purpose, Command Sergeant Major JoAnn Naumann shared that the previous standing power throw component of the screening was removed.

“For those 21 MOSes, they will all be graded on the male scale, so it will be sex neutral,” Naumann told the publication. “The passing score for most people will be a 300 with a minimum of 60 in every event. For those in those 21 specialties, the passing score will be 350 with a minimum of 60 in every event.”

The U.S. Army stands by its stricter standards

There are some concerns about how fair the new test is concerning women, especially those 17-21, per Newsweek. The deadlift requirement increased from 120 pounds to pass to 140 pounds. Additionally, under the new guidelines, they must finish the sprint-drag-carry in 2 minutes and 28 seconds instead of the former timeframe of 3 minutes and 15 seconds.

Despite concerns about stricter standards, officials believe the changes won’t spark widespread fallout among Soldiers.

“I don’t think we’re going to suddenly see drastic changes in failure rates,” Naumann shared with Task & Purpose. “There’s always been some people who fail whether through personal choice or just in ability to get there. I don’t think that we’re going to suddenly see mass amounts of retention problems. I would argue people want to be in organizations that have high standards.”

The AFT will roll out in phases starting June 1. New scoring standards for Soldiers in 21 combat-related MOSs will kick in on Jan. 1, 2026, for active-duty troops, and on June 1, 2026, for those in the Reserve and National Guard.