Changes to events and scoring were made to the Army’s official fitness test that started this month, according to Army news releases.
Army officials originally planned for the Army Combat Fitness Test to replace the Army Physical Fitness Test by October 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about whether certain new events created a disadvantage for female soldiers caused the delay.
The Army Physical Fitness Test, which was in place since 1980, had three assessments — sit-ups, push-ups and running.
Fitness experts at the Center of Initial Military Training Command partnered with academic experts, professional sports organizations and others to develop the new test, Brig. Gen. John Kline said, commander of the center, said during a March 23 town hall meeting.
The new test was designed to measure 10 components of physical fitness that include muscular strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, power, agility, balance, reaction time, coordination and speed, Kline said.
Twenty-five events were narrowed down to six to reflect warrior tasks and battle drills, he said.
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He said unloading 95-pound projectiles is an example of why muscular endurance is necessary.
“We wanted to improve soldier readiness,” Kline said. “We wanted to transform the culture. We wanted to reduce injuries and reduce muscular skeletal training injuries… and then certainly we wanted to increase overall unit readiness.”
The six events originally were: the strength deadlift that requires lifting a 60-pound hex bar and plates for multiple repetitions; the standing power throw that measures the distance when throwing a 10-pound medicine ball; hand-release push-ups; the sprint/drag/carry, which measures how long it takes to carry two 40-pound kettlebells and drag a 90-pound sled; the leg tuck, which scores how many times soldiers are able to tuck their knees in while pulling themselves up on a climbing bar; and a timed two-mile run.
The leg tuck is no longer part of the new test, according to the Army’s March news release.
The news release says that the six events are the maximum deadlift, standing power throw, hand-release pushup, sprint, drag carry, plank and 2-mile run.
Soldiers who are medically prohibited from participating in the 2-mile run will be allowed to participate in alternate aerobic events that include the 5,000-meter row, 12,000-meter stationary bike, 1,000-meter swim or a 2.5 mile walk.
When the new test was phased in in October 2020 but did not yet count as an official scoring record for soldiers, Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, sent a letter to the Senate and House armed services committees urging that the test be postponed.
The senators cited data and initial test scores in raising concerns about whether the test will create a gender gap or limitations for certain occupations that require less physical responsibilities.
Citing the Baseline Soldiers Physical Readiness Requirements Study and an external review of that study by the University of Iowa Virtual Soldier Research Center, the senators said the leg tuck is “not a significant predictive variable” of performance of common physically demanding military tasks.
They asked to suspend the test until a study of its impact was conducted.
The Service Women’s Action Network also sent a letter to the congressional committees requesting the new test not be used until an independent study is conducted.
Representatives of the nonpartisan women service members and women veterans organization questioned if an emphasis on muscular strength and endurance will affect the careers of women and older soldiers and overshadow “physical, ethical and mental” qualities.
“A fitness test that is so clearly biased simply cannot move forward without further review from an independent study that assesses all possible impacts of the (test),” said Deshauna Barber, chief executive officer for the Service Women’s Action Network.
Through the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress commissioned an independent review of the test that was conducted by the RAND Corp.
According to the review, Army scores collected during a diagnostic period showed some groups “failing at noticeably higher rates.”
“The biggest impacts are observed for women, but there also are differences in pass rates by age…,” the report says.
According to a news release from RAND Corp., passing rates ranged from 41% to 52% for enlisted women, versus 83% to 92% for men, depending upon component.
“Because this test may ultimately be used for personnel actions, it is especially important that all of the test’s events and minimum standards are validated for all genders, components, and occupational specialties,” said Chaitra Hardison, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND and lead author of the report.
RAND Corp. recommended that the Army change the test’s scoring to align with job-specific physical demands, and use data from all test-takers — not just those who pass – to establish grading points.
Other recommendations included phasing in the test’s implementation to allow soldiers to improve performance for specific events, allow support access to expert coaches and specialized training equipment and establish specialized training programs for soldiers who can not meet the minimum scoring standards.
During her May 13 confirmation hearing, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth also expressed concerns about whether the new test would have “implications” to “retain women.”
“I do think it’s important for the Army to have a physical fitness test that tests the kind of combat skills soldiers will need to have, to have a test that prevents injuries, which I think the new test is designed to do much better than the old one,” Wormuth said. “But we want to make sure that we are not indirectly penalizing anyone.”
She said she thought replacing the leg tuck with a plank was a good example of adapting the test.
In the Army’s March news release, Wormuth said revisions were made based on data, analysis and the independent assessment required by Congress.
“We will continue to assess our implementation of the test to ensure it is fair and achieves our goal of strengthening the Army’s fitness culture,” she said.
According to the Army’s news release, soldiers started taking diagnostic tests for the new fitness test Friday.
The news release says that the Army has commissioned analytic support from RAND and established a six-month delay before the recording of the test is allowed.
Active-duty soldiers will be required to take a record of the test starting Oct.1, and their first record of the test must be taken before April 1, 2023.
Soldiers in the Reserve and National Guard must take their first record of the test before April 1, 2024.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
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