The Combat Fitness Test Elephant in the Room

Over the Next few years the Army will be slowly moving from the APFT  to the Army Combat Readiness Test.  The two mile run, pushups and situps will transition out, while being replaced by a functional test consisting of six crossfit like events.

On the surface this seems like a good idea. I’m a amateur historian of war and never in my studies have I read of a war that requires soldiers to do pushups or situps as a function of battle.

However, the problem I see is not a problem of the test, it is a problem of equipment.  Under the old PT test an Army command of 100 soldiers could conduct all pushups, situps and the run at the same time. Thereby effectively completing the test in 30-40 minutes.

Now, lets think through the new Army Combat Readiness Test. As reported earlier the ACRT consists of 6 events with 4 of those requiring equipment to use. That equipment is not cheep and requires approximately $2000 worth of gear just for one soldier to complete the test.

Now, $2000 worth of gear may not sound like much for one soldier. But what’s multiply 2000 by 10 soldiers or 20 soldiers or 100 soldiers. Now we are talking some real money. Realistically a battalion of 100 soldiers, would need to purchase 10 sets of gear, costing over $20,000.

Check this out for yourself. I’ve included a gear list below, and if you have any comments on any way to reduce the price or minimize the gear list please let me know in the comments below.

Required ACRT gear list.