The Army Combat Fitness Test is officially being rebranded and restructured. Starting in June 2025, soldiers across all components — active duty, Reserve, and National Guard — will take the newly named Army Fitness Test, or AFT.
Out With the Old: Ball Toss Scrapped
The Army is removing one of the most controversial events, the Standing Power Throw. Troops often mocked the medicine ball event, and studies criticized it for favoring taller soldiers instead of those with greater strength or endurance. Many view this move as a long-overdue correction to a flawed metric.
New Army Fitness Test: What’s Changing
- Name Change: From Army Combat Fitness Test to simply Army Fitness Test (AFT)
- Removed Event: Standing Power Throw
New Standards:
- Combat roles (infantry, Special Forces, armor, etc.) must now score at least 60 points per event and 350 total
- Non-combat troops maintain the standard of 60 points per event, with no higher overall requirement
- Gender-Neutral Scoring: A controversial return to uniform standards regardless of gender for combat roles
- These adjustments follow Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s push for uniform standards across genders in combat-related military service.
More Rigor for Combat Roles
Soldiers in combat-designated positions will face higher minimum scores and tighter expectations. Those injured and unable to complete all test segments must earn 70 points in all completed events.
Although officials haven’t updated the full scoring tables yet, they will likely reduce the top score from 600 to 500 because they removed the medicine ball event.
Who Is Not on the List?
Curiously, the internal memo leaves out combat medics and cannon crew members from the list of combat positions with updated criteria, which may reflect an oversight the Army has yet to address.
What Happens Next?
How these changes will impact incentives, such as the weight and height exemption that was previously given to soldiers who scored 540 or above, has not yet been confirmed by the Army. The revised scoring charts are expected to roll out closer to the test’s June implementation.
As the AFT Army overhaul rolls out, the military community is watching closely — especially those in demanding combat roles — to see how the new system reshapes physical readiness in the force.
Source: Military
