NDAA Would Put an Indefinite Hold on the Implementation of the ACFT
It is amazing that Army leadership did not foresee how controversial a fitness test that puts females at a great disadvantage would be with Congress:
The defense bill halts the implementation of the Army Combat Fitness Test until a study is complete to assess the test’s impact on recruitment and retention. The study, which has to be conducted by an entity independent of the Pentagon, also has to investigate whether troops in different environments where outdoor activity is hindered are at a disadvantage.
The test has already been on hold. Army leaders have said units can conduct the test now, but will not count on a soldier’s record until 2022. This is to give troops more time to train for the test and as a reaction to the pandemic, which has restricted gym access across the country.
The ACFT replaces the decades-old fitness test with more events aimed to gauge a soldier’s physical fitness for combat. This includes CrossFit-style exercise events, hand release pushups, and leg tucks. The test retains the timed two-mile run.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
But men and women are equal in every way.. that is what all the liberal feminist say…they can’t have it both ways. And if they can’t do the exact same PT test as men, then get women out of combat arms.
@Flyingsword the issues with this test is more than just women in combat arms it impacts all females no matter what branch. For example do we want to start kicking out Army truck drivers or nurses because they can’t deadlift or do leg tucks despite for years being able to pass the APFT with no issues?
GI, weren’t there woman truck drivers captured and mistreated by the Iraqis in GW1?
Set, Arab armies “mistreat” (ie rape) women and men prisoners. But yes, in both GW1 and GW2.
Then, GIKorea, lets have a separate PT test for male Army truck drivers and nurses versus combat arms soldiers.
“Separate but equal”?
@kimchiluver, that is what the ACFT does, it has harder standards for combat arms branches compared to service support branches. The problem is that even at the lowest standard many soldiers especially females that could pass an APFT with no issues are struggling to meet it based on the early ACFT test results that were leaked last year.
The other issue is older soldiers with muscular skeletal profiles that could pass the APFT, but are now being asked to do things like deadlift with a bad back. So do we want to decimate our service support branches because someone has a hard throwing a medicine ball and doing leg tucks? That is why the test was given until 2022 for soldiers to pass in the hope soldiers that are struggling will have enough time to train up for the events. However, this does not help the new soldiers coming in to pass this test. It takes more time for someone to train up to pass this test than the old APFT. Especially with all the equipment requirements. This is not a test you can do pushups and situps in your barracks room each night to pass.
I expect the ACFT will be tinkered with and it is already occurring where for the leg tuck event people can instead do a two minute plank to pass. This is easier for people to pass than doing a straight leg tuck.
@setnaffa, doing leg tucks would do nothing to prevent the mistreatment of POWs.
GI, that’s correct. I just don’t like the idea of there being a non-combatant mindset on Army personnel in a war zone. The bad guys even kill chaplains.