Issues With the Army Combat Fitness Test and Why They Should Be Fixed

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Women Failing the ACFT
Injuries Associated with the ACFT
Increased Requirements for Maximum Score
Two-Mile Run
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The U.S. Army is concerned about the physical fitness of its soldiers and seeks ways of increasing this parameter. Therefore, it has developed the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) that is supposed to completely replace its predecessor, the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), by October 2020 (Buckner, 2019). Opinions are divided on whether the new standards will be of benefit to the U.S. military.

Advocates of the ACFT argue that it will ensure that all soldiers are able to survive and perform their duties on the battlefield regardless of their gender or age (Buckner, 2019). Although it is a strong argument, the ACFT has several issues that should be fixed to make the requirements for passing the test more reasonable. This paper will review the drawbacks of the ACFT, including inadequate requirements for women, injuries associated with the test, the increased complexity of the trial, and the necessity to complete the two-mile run. These features of the test appear to be excessive and hardly able to serve for the benefit of the U.S. Army.

Women Failing the ACFT

It has been a long time since warfare ceased to be a completely masculine occupation. In 2015, women were allowed to occupy combat positions in the U.S. military, meaning that they got permission to fight on a par with men (Center for Military Readiness [CMR], 2019). However, the natural distinctions between the two genders have not disappeared. Women usually have less physical strength; therefore, “treating women like men in the combat arms would increase injuries and weaken mission readiness” (CMR, 2019, para. 5). Despite this fact, the ACFT established equal requirements for female and male soldiers of any age.

As a result, most women appeared to be unable to meet the new standards. There is evidence that out of 3,206 soldiers that took part in the ACFT, 84% of women and 30% of men failed to score the necessary number of points (CMR, 2019). Buckner (2019) argues that the leg tuck, which is the most difficult event in the ACFT, is the only exercise that prevents women from succeeding in the test. However, female soldiers generally perform worse than their male counterparts.

For example, while men deadlift an average weight of 238 pounds, women lift only 160 pounds; men do an average of 34 hand-release push-ups, while women perform only 20 (Cox, 2019). Nevertheless, during wartime, every human is precious and sending a female soldier home because she failed the test would mean losing a valuable resource (CMR, 2019). In order to avoid wasting human resources, the army should adjust the requirements to capabilities associated with gender and age.

Injuries Associated with the ACFT

Another issue concerned with the ACFT is the injuries that can occur while performing the test. Generally, most injuries occur in the lower body because soldiers spend much time on their feet (Hauschild, 2019). The developers of the ACFT considered it and included various exercises in soldiers’ training programs to reduce the load on the lower body (Hauschild, 2019). However, there are still many risks of other injuries related to the ACFT. They include acute traumas such as “strains or tears in arm, shoulder, chest, or back muscles, torn knee ligaments, dislocated shoulders, herniated discs in the back, pinched nerves, or fractured bones” (Hauschild, 2019, para. 21).

Lifting too heavyweight may lead to knee injuries and herniated disks in the lower back (Hauschild, 2019). Soldiers may develop cumulative injuries while preparing for the ACFT if they do not let their muscles enough time to rest (Hauschild, 2019). Additionally, trainees risk being injured if they misuse the training equipment or fail to use the proper technique (Hauschild, 2019). Therefore, soldiers must be educated about the risks of injuries and the ways of reducing them.

Increased Requirements for Maximum Score

As has been mentioned, the ACFT sets such high standards for the physical fitness of soldiers that it is difficult for women to get the passing score. Getting the highest number of points seems to be impossible for female soldiers. Lonnie Hibbard, who commands the Center for Initial Military Training, says that the test is too difficult for women, and they can receive the maximum score only in one event at once (as cited in Cox, 2019).

As for men, there has been only one soldier, Major Timothy Cox, who managed to get 600 points in the ACFT, which is the highest possible score in the test (Tolbert, 2019). It means that the standards set by the U.S. Army are so high that only exceptional individuals can achieve the best results.

Two-Mile Run

Apart from the requirements established by the ACFT, the content of the test is questionable to some extent. Some people cast doubt on the necessity of the two-mile run, which is supposed to test soldiers’ aerobic capacity (Casey, n.d.). Casey (n.d.) argues that running two miles has little to do with military training. The author suggests replacing the two-mile run with covering a 5-mile distance with a backpack (Casey, n.d.). It would not only test their aerobic capacity and endurance but also train them to travel large distances in such a way that is frequent on the battlefield (Casey, n.d.). Thus, the U.S. Army could make the ACFT more close to reality to test the soldiers’ preparedness for real wartime.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the ACFT may be a good way of testing soldiers’ physical fitness, but it still has issues to be resolved. Adjusting the passing score for women would avoid the waste of human military resources. Educating soldiers about the risk of traumas would reduce injury rates. Finally, the two-mile run could be replaced with an equivalent activity that would be more close to wartime conditions.