Last verified against the AFSOC Initial Fitness Test worksheet, airforce.com and DoW Instruction 1308.03.
Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) Airmen call in air strikes alongside Army and Marine ground units. To start training, a candidate passes the Air Force Special Warfare Initial Fitness Test: 8 pull-ups, 50 sit-ups and 40 push-ups (two minutes each), a 1.5-mile run in 10:20, two 25-meter underwater swims and a 500-meter swim in 12:30. Once serving, TACP (AFSC 1Z3X1) is a combat arms specialty under DoW Instruction 1308.03, and the Air Force publishes separate Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment (PFRA) charts for Special Warfare and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Airmen.
The TACP Initial Fitness Test
The test is one uninterrupted session, and failing any event fails it. Pull-ups, sit-ups and push-ups come first, with 2-minute rests between them, then a 10-minute rest before the run and 30 minutes before the swims. TACP shares these minimums with Pararescue, Combat Control and Special Reconnaissance.
| Event, in test order | TACP minimum |
|---|---|
| Pull-ups in 2 minutes | 8 |
| Sit-ups in 2 minutes | 50 |
| Push-ups in 2 minutes | 40 |
| 1.5-mile run | 10:20 or faster |
| Two 25 m underwater swims | Finish both |
| 500 m surface swim | 12:30 or faster |
Source: AFSOC Special Tactics IFAM application FY2026 (20 January 2026), attachment 3, the PJ/CCT/TACP/SR column.
Candidates pass the test before entering the Air Force and again during the Special Warfare Candidate Course, and enlisted candidates must pass within 60 days before entering active duty or initial skills training. TACP officer candidates (19ZXB) test harder: 12 pull-ups in one minute, 75 sit-ups, 64 push-ups, a 3-mile run in 22:00, both underwater swims and a 500-meter swim in 12:30. The Air Force AFSC requirements page shows the minimums for EOD and SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape) candidates.
The TACP training pipeline
These are the seven courses the Air Force lists between enlistment and the first combat unit, 62.5 weeks of training in all.
- Basic Military Training7.5 weeks, Lackland AFB, Texas.
- Special Warfare Candidate Course7 weeks, Lackland AFB, Texas. Running, rucking and swimming, ending with the Initial Fitness Test.
- TACP Apprentice Course21 weeks, Lackland AFB, Texas. Radio communications, small unit tactics and the basics of close air support.
- Airborne School3 weeks, Fort Benning, Georgia.
- SERE training3 weeks, Fairchild AFB, Washington.
- Initial Certification Course, Phase 1: Combat Field Skills16 weeks, Camp Bullis, Texas.
- Initial Certification Course, Phase 2: Strike Phase5 weeks, Nellis AFB, Nevada. Simulated and live close air support missions.
Source: airforce.com, Tactical Air Control Party Specialist, training pipeline.
Other TACP entry requirements
Applicants must be at least 17 and under 42 on the day they enlist, be U.S. citizens, qualify on the ASVAB and score at least 30 on the TACP model of the Tailored Adaptive Personality Assessment System. They must also pass the Special Warfare Airman Physical, which requires normal color vision and depth perception, and qualify to bear firearms.
Sources
- Initial Fitness Test (IFT) Worksheet, Special Tactics IFAM Course Application FY2026 Air Force Special Operations Command (720th Special Tactics Group), 20 January 2026.
- Tactical Air Control Party Specialist (TACP) U.S. Air Force (airforce.com).
- Tactical Air Control Party brochure (EA 23-049) Air Force Accessions Center, June 2023.
- DoW Instruction 1308.03, DoW Physical Fitness/Body Composition Program Office of the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness, 31 August 2026.
- AFSPECWAR and EOD PFRA Charts Air Force Personnel Center, 1 March 2026.
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