Posted on Jun 3, 2015
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So I know theres been a lot of attention on equality for women in the media recently regarding equal pay and/or equal job opportunities and just equality all around. So I would like to get everyone`s opinion on the matter of bringing equality to PRT`s or Physical Readiness Test. As you know male and female have separate standards, last PRT I scored good overall (trying to improve), 22 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, and burned 117 calories on the bike in 12 minutes. If I were to score that based on male standards, I would fail my push-ups because I would need to get 37 push-ups just to pass, and that`s a satisfactory.

So my personal opinion is that I wouldn`t mind having PRT standards equal for everyone across the board. I want equality in my Navy and other branches for that matter, a couple more push-ups won`t hurt.
Posted in these groups: Equality logo EqualityImages Women in the Military
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Responses: 13
CPT Multifunctional Logistician
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As a female 2nd lieutenant, I do not set policy. Therefore, I have no control whatsoever over the APFT scoring scale. Nevertheless, I can "be the change I want to see in the world." My mindset is that I want to be the best of the best when it comes to PT. 70+ PU, 100+ SU, and a sub-13:00 2 mile is the bare minimum. If you do not want to be the best, you're wrong, and you're part of the problem. As a competitive person, I do not strive for equality. :-) That would be setting the bar far too low.
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CPT Network Engineer
CPT (Join to see)
9 y
I admire your mindset, I like to think in terms of combat. Essentially that is what PRT "should" be about- being ready to fight, not how many push-ups you can do (since it's all relative to body weight). I want the person next to me to be physically capable to have my back the same way I am to have there's. PRT is just to maintain- the real training comes in your off time. That's the level of dedication that separates the stars from the flies on the wall.
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LTC Chief, Relocation Plans
LTC (Join to see)
9 y
Just because someone is in a position of authority or speaks like they might know something ... There's always a regulation. It's our job to know those regs. I wish I could tell you that you could depend on your seniors to have done their homework, but it's not the case.

Just like Internet -- it's not that Wikipedia lies, its contributors just don't cite their submissions and that makes everything about as relevant as their opinion.
Check your reg. Unless there's an additional ALARACT, the awards reg doesn't constrain the award of the APFT badge by rank.
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LTC Stephen C.
LTC Stephen C.
5 y
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CPT (Join to see), when you provided your comment almost four years ago, you were a second lieutenant. Congratulations on your promotions!
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MAJ Ken Landgren
MAJ Ken Landgren
5 y
Glad to see you post. I hope your world is doing well.
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LTC Chief, Relocation Plans
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I always hate this question, as it's based on a misunderstanding of the purpose of the PRT. Can't speak to the Navy's test, but the Army's PRT is to measure a level of exertion -- not a static level of output.

We have different requirements by age and by gender because the Army essentially is asking, "Is Snuffy putting out 100% effort, 80% effort, 40% effort, or what?" And given the average age and gender of Snuffy, that's going to look different. All the PRT is supposed to tell the Army is whether or not Snuff has a basic level of fitness sufficient enough to partake in military service.

If you want to know about whether Snuffy can meet certain requirements (e.g., for airborne school), then we have requirements for those schools, period.

Essentially, we're asking if an item tastes like a fruit. As long as the apples and the oranges both taste like fruits, we're good. If we need all fruit to at least mimic oranges to be edible, then that's a different question.

[Of note, however, if you look at the newest manual, it states the purpose of the APFT is to assess the Physical Readiness Training program itself. This is a far cry from even being an assessment of individual skill -- humans would actually be just the hamsters in the training lab.]
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CPT Assistant Operations Officer (S3)
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The Marines tried to do this. They wanted to make 3 pull ups a requirement across the corps. It didn't work out. One thing that so many are neglecting is what would you do with those that don't make the cut. Many women, just like you, would really need to double their push ups. So if they said you have till the end of the year to do this how many wouldn't make it. The Marines gave up due to so many failing initialing. It would have halted promotions for a large amount of females Marines. I agree in an equal standard but I am not for reducing the male standard. The issue is that we can't have it both ways.
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SFC Mark Merino
SFC Mark Merino
9 y
I worked with plenty of female soldiers that knocked out 42 pushups and 52 situps before they even farted the first time.
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MSG William Wold
MSG William Wold
9 y
IN High School I held the school record for pull ups. 52 Forward hand pull ups, not the kind that your doing like curls. You had to actually stop, put your chin on the bar, and stop in the down position, none of this bouncing. I couldn't do 3 now if you held a gun to my head. Course I also swam a 100 meters freestyle in 58.9 seconds, and weighed 80 pounds less than I do now. But I'm 64 now, long since retired..
I'm also rather short, and to keep up with long legged runners has always been a struggle. I remember in basic when I was the fittest, in the 5 mile march with packs, I was third in line at the start and was 3rd to last at the finish; at least 7 people didn't finish and eventually recycled.
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