Army Fitness Test (AFT): Complete Guide

The five AFT events

The AFT kept five of the six events from the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). The Army dropped the standing power throw because of its technical nature and injury risk. Army AFT vs ACFT compares the two tests.

• 3-repetition maximum deadliftLift the heaviest weight you can three times in a row on a 60 lb hex bar. You get two attempts at most: a retry at a lower weight if the first fails, or a try at a higher weight if it succeeds. The weight in pounds sets your score.
• Hand-release push-upsDo as many as you can in two minutes. At the bottom of each rep your chest, hips and thighs touch the ground, and you move both arms straight out to the sides before you push up again.
• Sprint-drag-carryFive 50 m shuttles against the clock, in this order: sprint, sled drag, lateral, kettlebell carry and a final sprint. Each shuttle is 25 m out and 25 m back. The sled weighs 90 lb and the two kettlebells 40 lb each.
• PlankHold a forearm plank in a straight line from head to heels for as long as you can. The grader gives one verbal warning; a fault you cannot correct ends the event.
• 2-mile runRun 2 miles on a track, road or sidewalk; the Army does not allow a course on unimproved terrain. The scoring tables also list time limits for four alternate aerobic events, a 2.5-mile walk, 12 km bike, 1 km swim and 5 km row, which are pass or fail with no points.

Source: army.mil/aft event standards and the AFT Scoring Scales.

How the AFT is scored

Each event scores from 0 to 100 points on a table set by age group, and on the general standard by sex as well. There are 10 age groups, from 17 to 21 up to 62 and over. Your total is the sum of the five events, out of 500.

To pass, you need at least 60 points on every event and the minimum total for your standard. A high total does not make up for one event below 60.

General and combat standards

The two standards use the same five events and the same 60-point floor on each one. They differ in the total you need and the table that scores you.

Source: Army Directive 2025-06, army.mil/aft and Army Directive 2026-07.

All five events are sex-neutral on the combat standard, so a woman in a combat specialty runs against the same 2-mile time as a man of her age. On the general standard, the plank is the one event where men and women already share a table. The combat standard follows the specialty you hold, whatever unit you serve in, and commanders cannot make it a pass or fail line for anyone else.

The 24 combat specialties are the infantry codes 11A, 11B, 11C and 11Z; the engineer codes 12A, 12B and 12D (Army Diver); field artillery and fire support, 13A and 13F; Special Forces, 18A, 180A, 18B, 18C, 18D, 18E, 18F and 18Z; armor and cavalry, 19A, 19C, 19D, 19K and 19Z; and explosive ordnance disposal, 89D and 89E.

Points needed at ages 22 to 26

The result you need for the 60-point minimum and the 100-point maximum on each event, shown for ages 22 to 26 on the general standard as an example. On the combat standard, women in this age group use the men’s columns. Every other age group is on the standards page linked below.

Source: AFT Scoring Scales, effective 1 June 2025. Army AFT standards for every age group

How often soldiers take the AFT

Soldiers in the Regular Army, the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) and the Reserve Components on active-duty orders of more than 60 days must pass two record AFTs a year, at least 4 months apart. Other National Guard and Reserve soldiers pass one a year, at least 8 months apart.

Soldiers in the 24 combat specialties have followed a different schedule since April 2026. In the Regular Army, the AGR or on orders of 365 days or more, they take one record AFT and one Combat Field Test (described below) each year. Other Guard and Reserve soldiers in those specialties alternate: an AFT one calendar year, a Combat Field Test the next. Until 17 April 2027 the Combat Field Test is diagnostic only; record testing starts on that date.

If you fail a record AFT, you must pass a retest within 90 days in the first group above, or within 180 days in the rest of the Guard and Reserve. A soldier in a combat specialty who passes the general standard but misses the combat standard faces in-service reclassification.

Army body composition rules

Army Directive 2026-13, in force since 7 July 2026, makes the waist-to-height ratio the Army’s only body composition test (the Army’s FAQ numbers it 2026-06). The Army measures your waist at the navel in inches, divides it by your height in inches and keeps the ratio to three decimals without rounding. You pass below 0.55, so 0.549 passes and 0.550 fails.

The directive also retired the height and weight tables, the tape test and the exemption for soldiers who scored 465 or more on the AFT. Units must leave at least seven days between your AFT and your waist measurement, unless operational needs require otherwise.

The 2026 combat list and the Combat Field Test

Army Directive 2026-07, issued in April 2026, added three specialties to the combat list: Army Diver (12D), Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist (89D) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer (89E). That brings the list to 24 and puts those soldiers on the combat standard. Every evaluation report now shows whether you passed your record AFT and the points you earned.

The same directive created the Combat Field Test (CFT) for the combat specialties. It has no points: you pass or fail on your total time for seven events done in a row, in uniform and combat boots: a 1-mile run, 30 dead-stop push-ups, a 100 m sprint, 16 lifts of a 40 lb sandbag onto a 65-inch platform, a 50 m carry of two 40 lb water cans, a 50 m movement drill and a second 1-mile run. The limit is 30 minutes, the same for every age and sex.

Diagnostic CFTs began on 17 April 2026. Record testing begins on 17 April 2027, and from then a failed CFT brings flagging and possible reclassification. The CFT does not replace the AFT.

Training for the AFT events

army.mil lists drills for four of the five events, and none for the 2-mile run. The military PT training page has the Army’s drills for the deadlift, the hand-release push-ups and the sprint-drag-carry, with HPRC’s advice for each event. For the plank, the Army lists bent-leg raises, the leg tuck and twist, and the side bridge.

To build those into a plan with a test date at the end, read how to prepare for a military PT test and periodization for military PT.