Army Leaders Introduce Another ACFT Revamp

The Army has once again revamped its Army Combat Fitness Test.

Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston announced the changes March 22. The biggest was removing the requirement that soldiers perform at least one leg tuck as part of the new physical fitness test.

ACFT 3.0, as Grinston referred to themost recent changes, is set to go take effect April 1. The test, which replaced the Army Physical Fitness Test in October 2020, has been under review amid allegations that it was biased against certain groups of service members, including women.

COVID-19 has also had an impact on the ability of soldiers, especially those in the National Guard and Army Reserve, to train for the test.

The allegations and the ongoing pandemic mean ACFT scores will not count against soldiers until March 2022.

The latest changes were meant to improve upon the test, which Grinston said was “a far better test than the APFT.”

“The Army will continue to refine the ACFT as necessary and appropriate,” he said. “These adjustments will make the ACFT the most effective test for the Army and our soldiers.”

In lieu of the leg tuck, one of six events originally introduced as part of the ACFT, soldiers will now have the option of performing a plank exercise.

Grinston challenged soldiers to continue to train for the leg tuck, but encouraged them to choose the event best for them.

Officials are also creating a new tiered system in response to score differences between men and women when being used to assess for promotions and job selections.

Grinston said only 25% of the Army has taken the test and cautioned against making final policy decisions based on the limited data set.