June 07, 2019
Implementing new PT standards may hurt Army readiness. The service should learn from how US allies pulled it off
After nearly two decades of grinding low-intensity conflict, the U.S. military is shifting to focus on near-peer competition — and tailoring its physical fitness requirements accordingly.
The Army is currently conducting a two-year assessment and rollout plan scheduled for 2020, with 470,205 soldiers who are currently racing to prepare and train for a dramatically different six-event Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), developed in reaction to both the demands of modern conflict and to the declining health and fitness standards of incoming recruits and soldiers. After all, overweight and physically unfit soldiers degrade readiness, take up time and resources, and burden others.
To meet this lofty goal, the Army must undertake the most significant changes to physical fitness testing since the beginning of the professionalized force in 1973 — one that, unfortunately, it is ill-equipped to tackle for a simple reason: it has no up-to-date training apparatus to support the transition. While the new standard may be important for lethality, the Army must consider innovative ways to prepare both recruits and soldiers to successfully implement this new standard — or else risk a significant impact on readiness as the military enters into strategic competition with China and Russia.
Read the full article in Task and Purpose.
More from CNAS
-
Video
National Security Human Capital Program
‘Women Don’t Just Achieve…They Excel’: Fmr. Marine Corps Attack PilotDr. Kyleanne Hunter, former Marine Corps attack pilot and CEO of Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, says “women are the fastest growing group of veterans” and “the fastes...
By Dr. Kyleanne Hunter
-
Podcast
National Security Human Capital Program
Could the U.S. Bring Back the Draft?In this episode of At the Boundary, GNSI’s Dr. Guido Rossi sits down with Katherine Kuzminski, Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), to explore...
By Katherine L. Kuzminski
-
Commentary
National Security Human Capital Program
Hegseth Brings the Culture War to CombatThe fundamental challenge of military leadership lies in creating cohesive teams that can work together in an environment of mortal risk and, when called upon to do so, use le...
By Dr. Jason Dempsey
-
Podcast
National Security Human Capital Program
Hegseth Says Trump Boosted Military Recruiting. It’s Been Improving for over a YearDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth says military recruiting has shot up since the Trump administration's return. In fact, it's been improving for at least a year, with big jumps i...
By Taren Sylvester
