Military MOS Physical Requirements

What the combat arms rule changes

DoW Instruction 1308.03 sorts every service member into combat arms or non-combat arms. Combat arms means the physically demanding jobs on the instruction’s Appendix 3A lists, such as infantry, armor, artillery, combat engineering, special operations, explosive ordnance disposal and diving.

Combat arms personnel take the service fitness test on one male standard, adjusted for age only, and must average 70 percent across its events (on the Army test, 350 of 500 points). They also take a second test, the combat field test, which each service designs. Everyone else keeps scoring by sex and age; the branch pages below say which test they take. Each service applies the rule in its own way, so the details differ by branch.

Combat arms jobs and their fitness rules, by branch

One row per branch: the jobs on its combat arms list and what they test on.

• Army Army MOS physical requirements 24 combat specialties, from 11B Infantry Soldier to the two Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialties. They pass the Army Fitness Test (AFT) on the combat standard, 350 points with at least 60 in every event, and take the Combat Field Test.
• Navy Navy rating physical requirements SEAL, Special Warfare Combat Crewman (SWCC), EOD and Fleet Divers. They need a combined Physical Readiness Test (PRT) score of 70, with one table for men and women, and pass a Combat Fitness Test once a year.
• Marine Corps Marine Corps MOS physical requirements 32 combat arms primary MOSs, from 0311 Rifleman to 2339 EOD Diver. Their Physical Fitness Test (PFT) is scored on the male tables, and under 210 points means remedial physical training.
• Air Force Air Force AFSC physical requirements Pararescue, Combat Control, Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), Special Reconnaissance, EOD and three Special Warfare officer specialties. The Air Force Personnel Center publishes separate Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment (PFRA) charts for Special Warfare and EOD Airmen.
• Coast Guard Coast Guard PFT standards No combat arms list. Every rating takes the same Physical Fitness Test; a community with an approved Community Fitness Test may use it in place of one semi-annual cycle.
• Space Force Space Force HPA rules No combat arms list. Every Guardian takes the same Human Performance Assessment (HPA).

Entry tests for special operations pipelines

Special operations jobs screen candidates before training, on tests separate from the yearly fitness test. The pages below give the minimums. Army Special Forces, Marine Reconnaissance and MARSOC screening are not covered here yet.

• Navy Physical Screening Test SEAL, SWCC, EOD, Navy Diver and Aviation Rescue Swimmer candidates. Swim, push-ups, curl-ups, pull-ups and a 1.5-mile run.
• Navy SWCC requirements The SWCC screening minimums and the SEAL and SWCC Combat Fitness Test by age.
• Navy Diver requirements The two diver screening standards and the EOD and Fleet Diver Combat Fitness Test by age.
• Air Force Initial Fitness Test Special Warfare, EOD and SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape) candidates. Calisthenics, a 1.5-mile run and, for Special Warfare, underwater and surface swims.
• Air Force TACP requirements The Tactical Air Control Party test minimums and the training pipeline.
• Army Ranger RASP requirements The fitness test before the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP), and the physical events inside it.

If your job is not on a combat arms list

Your requirement is your branch’s standard test, scored for your age and sex: the Army Fitness Test on the general standard, the Navy Physical Readiness Test, the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test and Combat Fitness Test, the Air Force Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment, the Coast Guard Physical Fitness Test or the Space Force Human Performance Assessment. Apart from the combat arms lists and the entry tests above, the branch documents listed under Sources set no fitness test minimum for an individual job. The military PT standards pages have every table.