Last verified against the branch documents listed under Sources.
Military fitness writing runs on abbreviations, and some of them clash: CFT names a different test in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. This glossary defines the terms our military PT pages use, grouped by subject, and each group names the documents its definitions come from.
Fitness test names
The tests each branch gives, with the old names you may still see.
- ACFT (Army Combat Fitness Test)The Army’s test of record until the AFT replaced it on 1 June 2025. The AFT dropped one ACFT event, the standing power throw.
- AFT (Army Fitness Test)The Army’s test of record since 1 June 2025: a 3-repetition maximum deadlift, hand-release push-ups, the sprint-drag-carry, a plank and a 2-mile run, each scored up to 100 points.
- CFT (Combat Field Test, Army)A pass or fail test for soldiers in the 24 combat specialties: seven events done in sequence and judged on the total time.
- PFA (Physical Fitness Assessment, Navy)The Navy’s assessment, run in two cycles in 2026: the Body Composition Assessment plus the Physical Readiness Test.
- PRT (Physical Readiness Test, Navy)The fitness part of the Navy PFA: push-ups, a forearm plank and a cardio event.
- CFA (Combat Fitness Assessment, Navy)The Body Composition Assessment plus the Navy’s Combat Fitness Test, taken once a year by Navy combat arms personnel.
- PFT (Physical Fitness Test, Marine Corps)Pull-ups or push-ups, a plank and a 3-mile run or 5,000-meter row, scored out of 300. Active duty Marines take it between 1 January and 30 June.
- CFT (Combat Fitness Test, Marine Corps)Movement to contact, the ammunition lift and maneuver under fire, scored out of 300. Active duty Marines take it between 1 July and 31 December.
- PFRA (Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment, Air Force)The Air Force test, scored out of 100: cardiorespiratory fitness up to 50 points, body composition 20, muscular strength 15 and core endurance 15.
- HPA (Human Performance Assessment, Space Force)The Space Force test, scored out of 100: cardiorespiratory fitness up to 60 points, muscular endurance 20 and muscular strength 20. The waist-to-height ratio is assessed separately and is not part of the score.
- PFT (Physical Fitness Test, Coast Guard)Push-ups, a forearm plank and a run, row or swim. It replaced the Coast Guard’s Physical Fitness Assessment on 1 July 2026.
- CFT (Community Fitness Test, Coast Guard)A harder, sex-neutral test for communities such as rescue swimmers, approved by the Coast Guard’s Force Readiness Command. It can replace one semi-annual PFT.
- Combat readiness testThe second test of the year for active duty members of the five DoW services who are not in combat arms jobs. A service may let its own fitness test stand in for it.
Sources: army.mil/aft; Army Directive 2026-07 para 4a; NAVADMIN 264/25 paras 2 and 5; Navy PRP Guide-4 section 1; MCO 6100.13A chapters 2 and 3; AFMAN 36-2905 para 3.7.1; SPFMAN 36-2905 paras 3.2 and 3.7.1; ALCOAST 082/26 para 5; COMDTINST 6100.1 paras 16 and 18; DoW Instruction 1308.03 Table 1.
Event names and abbreviations
The short names you will see on scorecards and score tables.
- MDL (3-repetition maximum deadlift)The first Army AFT event: the heaviest weight you can lift three times in a row on a 60-pound hex bar.
- HRPU (hand-release push-up)On the Army AFT, as many as you can in two minutes. The Air Force and Space Force tests offer a hand-release push-up as a strength option.
- SDC (sprint-drag-carry)An Army AFT event: five 50-meter shuttles for time, in order sprint, a 90-pound sled drag, lateral, a carry of two 40-pound kettlebells, and sprint.
- PLK (plank)The Army AFT abbreviation for the forearm plank, held for time. A plank is an event or an option on every branch’s general fitness test.
- 2MR (2-mile run)The Army AFT run. The Air Force and Space Force tests also use a 2-mile run.
- HAMR (High Aerobic Multi-shuttle Run)A 20-meter shuttle run, the alternative to the 2-mile run on the Air Force PFRA and the Space Force HPA.
- CLRC (cross-leg reverse crunch)A core option on the Air Force PFRA and the Space Force HPA.
- MTC (movement to contact)The first Marine Corps CFT event: an 880-yard run for time.
- AL (ammunition lift)A Marine Corps CFT event: lift a 30-pound ammunition can from shoulder height to overhead as many times as you can in two minutes.
- MANUF (maneuver under fire)The last Marine Corps CFT event: a 300-yard shuttle with crawls, buddy drags and carries, ammunition resupply, a grenade throw and agility running.
Sources: army.mil/aft; AFMAN 36-2905; SPFMAN 36-2905 para 3.2; MCO 6100.13A chapter 3.
Scores, levels and standards
The words each branch uses for a result.
- General standard (Army)The AFT standard every soldier must pass, scored by age and sex: at least 60 points in every event and 300 in total.
- Combat standard (Army)The AFT standard for the combat specialties, scored by age on one column for every soldier: at least 60 points in every event and 350 in total.
- Combat specialties (Army)The 24 jobs held to the combat standard and the Combat Field Test, among them 11B Infantry Soldier, 19D Cavalry Scout, 12D Army Diver and 89D Explosive Ordnance Disposal Specialist.
- Combat armsThe jobs DoW Instruction 1308.03 Appendix 3A lists for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. Their service fitness test is sex-neutral and uses the male standard.
- Levels (Navy PRT)Each PRT event earns one of twelve levels, from Outstanding High at 100 points down to Probationary at 45. Your overall category matches the average of your event points.
- Probationary (Navy)The lowest passing PRT level. Below it, an event is a Failure, and one failed event fails the whole PRT.
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Class (Marine Corps)PFT and CFT classes: 235 to 300 points is 1st Class, 200 to 234 is 2nd Class and 150 to 199 is 3rd Class.
- Excellent, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory (Air Force)PFRA categories: 90 to 100 is Excellent, 75 to 89.9 is Satisfactory, and below 75, or any component minimum missed, is Unsatisfactory.
- Fit to Fight, Health Maintenance, Health Concern (Space Force)HPA categories: 90 to 100 is Fit to Fight, 75 to 89.9 is Health Maintenance, and below 75, or any component minimum missed, is Health Concern.
- Evaluation marks (Coast Guard)A PFT result maps to a mark on the evaluation: Superior (7), Excellent (6), Above Average (5) and Average (4).
Sources: Army Directive 2025-06 para 4b; army.mil/aft; Army Directive 2026-07 enclosure 2; DoW Instruction 1308.03 Table 1 and Appendix 3A; Navy Guide-5A section 1 and Table 4-1; MCO 6100.13A Tables 2-1 and 3-1; AFMAN 36-2905 para 3.6.1; SPFMAN 36-2905 para 3.6.1; COMDTINST 6100.1 and ALCOAST 082/26 para 7.b.
Body composition terms
The words used when your waist, height and body fat are measured.
- WHtR (waist-to-height ratio)Your waist divided by your height. DoW Instruction 1308.03 caps it below 0.55 for the five DoW services, each of which can set a lower line; the Marine Corps line is 0.52 or less. The Coast Guard has not adopted it.
- BCA (Body Composition Assessment, Navy)The Navy’s two-step check: the waist-to-height ratio first, then a body fat estimate from Guide-4 tables if the ratio is 0.55 or more.
- ABCP (Army Body Composition Program)The Army program Army Directive 2026-13 governs. Since July 2026 the waist-to-height ratio is its only measure.
- Tape testA body fat estimate from tape measurements of the body. The Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard can still use one in their second step; the Army has rescinded it and the Navy reads body fat from its own tables.
- Remedial programThe program a member enters after missing a fitness or body composition standard, with prescribed training, counseling and a medical evaluation.
Sources: DoW Instruction 1308.03 paras 3.1.b(11), 3.2.g and 3.2.i; MARADMIN 073/26; Army Directive 2026-13; Navy PRP Guide-4; COMDTINST 1020.8I.
Documents and systems
The documents and systems these pages cite most. Each document is linked under Sources.
- DoW Instruction 1308.03The Department of War’s fitness and body composition instruction of 31 August 2026, for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force.
- Army Directive (AD)A policy issued by the Secretary of the Army. AD 2025-06 set up the AFT, AD 2026-07 the Combat Field Test, and AD 2026-13 the waist-to-height ratio standard.
- OPNAVINST 6110.1L, Guide-4 and Guide-5A (Navy)The Navy’s Physical Readiness Program instruction and two of its guides: Guide-4 covers the Body Composition Assessment and Guide-5A the PRT.
- NAVADMIN, MARADMIN, ALCOASTOfficial messages from the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. Each branch uses them to announce policy and changes to it.
- MCO 6100.13A (Marine Corps)The Marine Corps order for the PFT and CFT, with their scoring tables.
- AFMAN 36-2905 and SPFMAN 36-2905The Air Force and Space Force fitness manuals.
- COMDTINST 6100.1 and 1020.8I (Coast Guard)The Coast Guard’s Physical Readiness Program instruction, with the PFT tables, and its body composition instruction.
- myFitnessThe only system authorized to schedule and score the Space Force HPA. Its HPA calculator holds the official scoring charts.
- PRIMS (Physical Readiness Information Management System)The Navy system where PFA results are recorded and the official body fat result is calculated.
Sources: SPFMAN 36-2905 para 7.1; Navy Guide-5A; Navy PRP Guide-4 section 3 para 2.
Sources
- Army Fitness Test army.mil. The AFT events and the general and combat standards.
- Army Directive 2026-07 (Army Physical Fitness Standards) Secretary of the Army, April 2026. The Combat Field Test for the 24 combat specialties.
- Guide-5A Physical Readiness Test (PRT) U.S. Navy, December 2025. PRT events, levels, the pass rule and the alternate cardio options.
- NAVADMIN 264/25, Navy Physical Readiness Program for Calendar Year 2026 Chief of Naval Operations, 30 December 2025. The two 2026 PFA cycles and how many each Sailor takes.
- Navy PRP Guide-4, Body Composition Assessment U.S. Navy, June 2026. The two-step Body Composition Assessment and its tables.
- MCO 6100.13A w/Admin Ch-5, Marine Corps Physical Fitness and Combat Fitness Tests (PFT/CFT) Commandant of the Marine Corps, 28 May 2025. PFT and CFT events, scoring and the test seasons.
- AFMAN 36-2905, Air Force Physical Fitness Readiness Program Department of the Air Force, 24 March 2026. PFRA components, minimums, categories and how often Airmen test.
- SPFMAN 36-2905, Human Performance and Readiness (26 Sep 2025, incorporating Change 3) Department of the Air Force, 24 April 2026. HPA components, the pass rule, how often Guardians test and the body composition rule.
- COMDTINST 6100.1, Physical Readiness Program (PRP) U.S. Coast Guard, 16 June 2026. PFT events, scoring tables, testing windows and categories.
- DoW Instruction 1308.03, DoW Physical Fitness/Body Composition Program Under Secretary of War, 31 August 2026. Two fitness tests a year, the waist-to-height ratio limit and the body fat bounds for the five DoW services.
Spotted something out of date? Report an error.
