Today, I want to discuss the APFT Requirements. These are the requirements for Army personnel concerning the Army Physical Fitness Test. The APFT consists of three events: 2 minutes of push-ups, 2 minutes of sit-ups and a timed 2-mile run. The standards vary, based upon the Soldier’s age and gender. Injured Soldiers and Soldiers with profiles might be exempt from taking the APFT on a temporary basis, until their injury is healed.
Here are a few other APFT Requirements.
- Active Duty Soldiers must take the test every six months
- Army National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers must complete the APFT once every 12 months
- Army AGR Soldiers must take the APFT every 6 months
- All Army personnel (ARNG, USAR and Active Duty) must complete the height/weight test every 6 months
- Soldiers with profiles that have alternate events receive a pass/fail for those events
- A passing score is a 180 or higher, with at least 60 points in each event
- If you fail one event, you fail your entire Army Physical Fitness Test
- Soldiers who score a 90 or higher in all three categories can get an APFT Badge and Certificate
The Unwritten APFT Requirements
Here are a couple more unpublished/unwritten APFT Requirements that I consider a must do:
- Soldiers taking the APFT should have graders that are higher ranking, so there is no conflict of interest
- Army leaders should ALWAYS take the APFT in front of their Soldiers so there is never a reason to believe they don’t take an APFT or that they fudge their APFT score
- When possible, Soldiers should take the APFT with their assigned units
- All leaders should aim for a 270 or higher on their APFT
Final Thoughts
In summary, these are the basic APFT Requirements. As a leader, you are responsible to maintain a high level of physical fitness. The Army administers the APFT to assess your level of physical fitness test. As an Active Duty Soldier, you must pass the APFT every six months. As a ARNG or USAR Soldier, you must pass the APFT once every 12 months. In either case, it’s up to you to work out on your own and stay in shape, so you can lead by example and get a high score.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any questions? Please post them below. Thank you.
Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
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I would also like to say that I love that you recommend that leaders actually perform the APFT with their soldiers. There’s nothing that motivates a soldier more than seeing the people above him or her, do the same types of things they have to do. If a leader didn’t do this, then it could cause resentment within the ranks and that is not something you want or can have in a cohesive unit.
Every good military leader I’v ever worked with took their APFT in front of their troops. Enough said!
Great point about leaders testing in front of their Soldiers! My current troop commander is AGR, which means he takes his record APFT with the AGR force, but in October he was right out there with the rest of us taking the APFT. Right or wrong, good or bad, perception is an important part of leadership. I can remember having a first sergeant who had a legitimate temporary but long-term profile for a shoulder injury (he eventually had rotator cuff surgery) and didn’t take the APFT for many months, and there were murmurs in the ranks about it, especially since APFT failures took a test just about every month until they passed.
Perception is reality. Ain’t that the truth. You have a good Company Commander, especially if he is always out there in front of his troops when taking an APFT.
Chuck Holmes