Soldiers have a new incentive to get a high score on the service’s new Army Fitness Test. Those soldiers who score at least 465 are eligible to be exempt from the service’s body fat standards, Army officials have announced.
The maximum score that soldiers can get on the AFT is 500 points. To be eligible for the exemption, soldiers are required to score 80 points or more on each of the five events.
Soldiers who qualify for exemptions but do not meet the Army’s height and weight standards will not be required to be measured by a tape test, nor will they be referred to the Army’s Body Composition Program, Army officials said.
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Exemptions are valid until the next record test, or no longer than 8 months for active duty soldiers or 12 months for National Guard and Reserve soldiers, an Army news release says.
Soldiers in the Army Body Composition Program are flagged as overweight and monitored as they diet and exercise to meet the service’s body fat standards. Being in the program can be detrimental to soldiers’ careers.
The exemption can allow soldiers to avoid being assigned to the Body Composition Program if they score high enough on the Army Fitness Test. This incentive also existed under the service’s prior Army Combat Fitness Test, which had a maximum score of 600.
“This is a welcome continuation of our previous policy under the former Army Combat Fitness Test,” Sgt. Maj. Christopher Stevens, a senior enlisted advisor for the Army’s personnel staff. “It rewards soldiers who consistently demonstrate high levels of fitness, which supports readiness, health, and creates a culture that values performance.”
