Military Fitness Standards by Branch

Each U.S. military branch's fitness test side by side: the events, what it takes to pass, how often you test and the body composition rule, with links to each branch's full standards.

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Four service members, three men and a woman, in grey t-shirts doing push-ups in a row on a grass field

Last verified against each branch's own documents.

Each branch of the U.S. military writes its own fitness test, with its own events, scoring tables and pass rule. The rows below set all six branches side by side, each with a link to its full standards. The questions at the end cover what the rows do not: men’s and women’s standards, the National Guard, converting a score and the combat tests some jobs take.

Fitness tests by branch

One row per branch: the test, its events, what it takes to pass and the document the scoring comes from. Each test name opens that branch's full standards. "Rules only" marks the Space Force, which keeps its scoring charts in myFitness, so it has no calculator.

  • ArmyArmy Fitness Test (AFT)Events: 3-rep max deadlift, hand-release push-up, sprint-drag-carry, plank and 2-mile run.To pass: 60 points in every event and 300 out of 500 in total, or 350 on the combat standard, which soldiers in the 24 combat specialties take.Scoring: AFT Scoring Tables (Effective June 1, 2025), U.S. Army, 15 May 2025.
  • NavyNavy Physical Readiness Test (PRT)Events: Push-ups and forearm plank, and one of: 1.5-mile run, 2,000-meter row, 500-yard swim or 450-meter swim.To pass: Probationary (45 points) or better in every event.Scoring: Guide-5A Physical Readiness Test (PRT), U.S. Navy (MyNavy HR, N171 Physical Readiness Program), 30 December 2025.
  • Marine CorpsMarine Corps Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and Combat Fitness Test (CFT)Events: PFT: pull-ups or push-ups, forearm plank and 3-mile run or 5,000-meter row. CFT: movement to contact, ammunition lift and maneuver under fire.To pass: 150 out of 300 on each test and the minimum in every event.Scoring: 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.
  • Air ForceAir Force Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment (PFRA)Events: 2-mile run or 20 m HAMR; push-ups (1 minute) or hand-release push-ups; sit-ups (1 minute), cross-leg reverse crunch or forearm plank; plus the waist-to-height ratio.To pass: 75 points out of 100, and the minimum in each fitness component.Scoring: PFRA Scoring Charts (Tab 2, cao 17 Mar 26), Air Force Personnel Center, 17 March 2026.
  • Coast GuardCoast Guard Physical Fitness Test (PFT)Events: Push-ups (1 minute), forearm plank, and one of: 1.5-mile run/walk, 2000-meter row, 500-yard swim or 450-meter swim.To pass: 45 points or more in every event.Scoring: COMDTINST 6100.1, Physical Readiness Program (PRP), U.S. Coast Guard (Commandant), 16 June 2026.
  • Space ForceSpace Force Human Performance Assessment (HPA)Rules onlyEvents: 2.0-mile run or 20-meter HAMR; 1-minute sit-ups, 2-minute cross leg reverse crunch or timed forearm plank; 1-minute push-ups or 2-minute hand release push-ups.To pass: 75 points out of 100, and the minimum in each component. The charts and the component minimums are in myFitness.Scoring: SPFMAN 36-2905, Human Performance and Readiness (26 Sep 2025, incorporating Change 3), Department of the Air Force (U.S. Space Force), 24 April 2026.

How often each branch tests

DoW Instruction 1308.03 sets the frame for the five Department of War services: active duty members take two fitness tests a year, and National Guard and Reserve members one (para 3.2.f). Each branch sets its own calendar inside that frame, and the Coast Guard sets its own in COMDTINST 6100.1. The combat tests some jobs take are covered in the questions below.

  • ArmySoldiers in the Regular Army, the Active Guard Reserve (AGR) and the Reserve Components on active duty orders of more than 60 days pass two record AFTs each calendar year, at least 4 months apart. Other Guard and Reserve soldiers pass one a year, at least 8 months apart. In the 24 combat specialties, soldiers in the Regular Army, the AGR or on orders of 365 days or more take one record AFT and one Combat Field Test each year.
    Source: Army Directive 2025-06 paras 4d and 4e; Army Directive 2026-07 para 4a.
  • NavyIn 2026 the Navy runs two cycles of its Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA), the body composition check plus the PRT: 1 January to 30 June and 1 July to 31 December. Active Component Sailors complete two fitness assessments a year and Reserve Component Sailors at least one.
    Source: NAVADMIN 264/25 para 2.
  • Marine CorpsActive duty Marines take the PFT between 1 January and 30 June and the CFT between 1 July and 31 December each year. Both tests are a yearly requirement for Selected Marine Corps Reserve and Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) Marines too.
    Source: MCO 6100.13A chapter 2 para 2 and chapter 3 para 2.
  • Air ForceAirmen test again 6 months after an Excellent or Satisfactory result, and within 3 months after an Unsatisfactory one. Air Reserve Component members test every 12 months.
    Source: AFMAN 36-2905 paras 3.4.2 and 3.10.
  • Coast GuardActive component members take one official PFT in each six-month window. Selected Reserve members who are not on long-term active duty orders take one a year.
    Source: COMDTINST 6100.1 para 17.
  • Space ForceGuardians take the HPA every six months, no sooner than five and no later than seven months after the last scored one. A Health Concern result, below 75, brings a retest within 3 months. At least one of the year’s two HPAs must use the 2-mile run.
    Source: SPFMAN 36-2905 paras 3.2.3, 3.8.1.1 and 3.8.1.4.

Body composition standards by branch

Five branches screen body composition with the waist-to-height ratio: your waist divided by your height. Where each one draws the line, and what follows, differs. The Coast Guard still uses its own screening.

  • ArmyA WHtR below 0.55 meets the standard. The ratio is read to three decimals and truncated, so 0.549 passes and 0.550 fails. WHtR is the only body composition measure: the tape test and the height and weight tables were rescinded.Source: Army Directive 2026-13 (ABCP) para 5a; army.mil ABCP FAQ (Jul 2026).
  • NavyStep 1: a WHtR of 0.5499 or less is within standards. The ratio is rounded down to four decimals, so 0.5500 or more moves the Sailor to step 2, the body fat estimate.Source: Navy PRP Guide-4, Body Composition Assessment (Jun 2026), sections 2 and 3.
  • Marine CorpsA WHtR of 0.52 or less meets the standard, for men and women alike. Above it, a body fat evaluation follows.Source: MARADMIN 073/26 para 1 (amends MARADMIN 066/26 para 6); MARADMIN 066/26 paras 2 and 3.d.
  • Air ForceWHtR is scored on the PFRA, from 20 points at 0.49 or less to 0 at 0.60 or more, truncated to two decimals. At 0.55 or above, a body fat assessment decides the result.Source: AFMAN 36-2905 (24 Mar 2026) paras 3.7.2, 3.15.4.2, 3.15.4.5, 3.15.4.7, Table 3.2.
  • Coast GuardNo waist-to-height ratio. Under COMDTINST 1020.8I the Coast Guard screens, in order: maximum allowable weight, maximum allowable body fat, abdominal circumference and Physical Fitness Test. Passing any step, taken in order, ends the screening.Source: COMDTINST 1020.8I, Body Composition Standards Program (31 Mar 2022).
  • Space ForceA WHtR below 0.55 is the Space Force standard; 0.55 or above exceeds it. The ratio is truncated to two decimals and is not part of the HPA score.Source: SPFMAN 36-2905 incorporating Change 3 (24 Apr 2026) paras 3.2.4, 9.1, 9.2.
DoW Instruction 1308.03 para 3.2.g sets the waist-to-height ratio limit behind the five DoW branches' rules.

Military fitness standards questions

Do men and women have the same standards?

In combat jobs, yes; for everyone else, mostly no. DoW Instruction 1308.03 sets the rule for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force: people in combat arms jobs take a sex-neutral test scored on the male standard, and everyone else is scored on tables set by sex and age (Table 1). The Coast Guard works under its own instruction and scores men and women on separate tables (COMDTINST 6100.1 Appendices A and B). Branch by branch: the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force publish a scoring table for each sex and age group (Navy Guide-5A Table 4-1, MCO 6100.13A chapters 2 and 3, the Air Force PFRA Scoring Charts), and the Space Force scores by age and sex too, though its charts are only in myFitness (SPFMAN 36-2905 para 3.1). The Army scores its general standard by sex and age; its combat standard, which soldiers in the 24 combat specialties take, uses one table for everyone (Army Directive 2025-06 para 4b; Army Directive 2026-07). Since 1 January 2026 the Marine Corps scores Marines in combat arms jobs on the male PFT tables for their age (MARADMIN 613/25 para 3). A few single events use one table for everyone, such as the Marine Corps plank (MCO 6100.13A Table 2-4).

Which test does the National Guard take?

The Army National Guard takes the Army Fitness Test. Army Directive 2025-06 applies to the Regular Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, so Guard soldiers use the same Army tables.

Can I convert my score from one branch’s test to another?

No. Each branch scores its own events on its own tables, and none of the documents listed under Sources converts a score from one test to another. A 300 on the Army AFT, which is scored out of 500, and a 300 on the Marine Corps PFT, scored out of 300, come from different events and different scales. To see where you stand in another branch, score that branch’s test in its own calculator.

Which branch has the hardest fitness test?

None of the official documents ranks one branch’s test against another’s, and the tests measure different things: the Army scores a deadlift and a sprint-drag-carry, the Marine Corps a 3-mile run, and the Air Force counts your waist-to-height ratio as part of the score. The rows at the top of this page show what each test asks of you.

Which branches have a separate combat fitness test?

The Army has two things for soldiers in the 24 combat specialties, with similar names: the combat standard of the AFT (350 points, one table for everyone) and a separate Combat Field Test, pass or fail on the total time for seven events (Army Directive 2026-07). Every active duty Marine takes the Combat Fitness Test each year, scored out of 300 (MCO 6100.13A). Navy combat arms personnel complete a Combat Fitness Assessment once a year (NAVADMIN 264/25 para 5). DoW Instruction 1308.03 requires a combat field test for the combat arms personnel it lists in its Appendix 3A (Table 1).

Sources

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