Depreciation of the APFT Badge??

2014-09-27T19:46:40-04:00

Why has the Army APFT excellence Badge just gone down the drain for the most part?

Do you wear it?

Do you encourage your soldiers to wear it?

Why or why not?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2014 7:51 PM

2014-09-27T19:51:11-04:00

Once I get another PSG position which is permanent I strongly pondering the idea of having everyone who has it wear it and do platoon ceremony for them to come in front of our platoon and receive it. In hopes this will make individuals start looking around the formation and not want to be the only person in formation to not have one on. kind of forcing my guys into peer pressure from one another. Thoughts?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 27 at 2014 7:57 PM

2014-09-27T19:57:48-04:00

It has been a while since I was authorized the PT patch but I have never worn it.
I never wanted to sew it on every PT shirt, if you don't earn it next PT test you have to take it off.

I think it would be cool to have a unit have qualified soldiers put it on for unit runs but other than that it's kinda overkill.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2015 6:45 PM

2015-01-19T18:45:50-05:00

Honestly I have never had it sewn on my uniform. I have maintained it for almost two decades now.

I remember when you had to score a 290 or above to wear it and I still stand by that standard for myself.

I do not necessarily agree that a person should get it if they score a 90% in each event with a potential to score only 270 points. I feel that has degraded the purpose of the badge.

Regardless of my personal view I would surely encourage my Soldiers to wear it.

I believe that it should be recognized in front of formation and awarded properly.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2015 6:49 PM

2015-01-19T18:49:48-05:00

I cant say that this is the sole reason, but I do remember that when I went through BCT it was almost looked down upon as showing off or being overly full of yourself. I can remember my Drill Sergeants making fun of the patch, saying that its great to be able to get but no body should actually put it on their shirts. The army needs to find a way for Soldiers to feel like it is more of an honor to wear it.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 19 at 2015 7:31 PM

2015-01-19T19:31:45-05:00

I would not wear this patch, as it would have to be sewn onto every T-Shirt and PT jacket, which as we all know, gets expensive.

Secondly, those of us with P2 profiles who do the alternate aerobic event are in a grey area with regard to this award. The reg governing this award does not say either way about eligibility for the award for those taking the alternate event. Again, even if P2s were included, I still wouldn't wear it, because it is too much cost and effort to maintain, especially with the new APFUs being phased in.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2015 5:03 AM

2015-01-20T05:03:31-05:00

Personally I could care less what anyone outside of my company thinks of the physical fitness badge. I just had another Soldier in my company earn it and he will have it awarded to him out here in Africa. He also earned it at a previous unit and was not awarded it nor did he want to wear it due to the "stigma". He will wear it on his PT uniform because he earned it. And you know who is going to pay to get it sewn on his PT uniforms? Me! I have done it for other Soldiers that have earned it and will continue to do it until I retire. To me that is taking care of Soldiers and motivating others to achieve it. Just my 2 cents.

V/R
1SG Gomez

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 15 at 2015 11:26 PM

2015-03-15T23:26:08-04:00

I have rarely seen this patch worn in the recent years. At one point the standard was 290, then it dropped to 270. When I was in command, I made a big deal of it. I never had an APFT score under 290, and I never wore this patch.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2015 11:23 AM

2015-07-09T11:23:58-04:00

I can't really speak for the whole army, but in my unit and the 82nd in general, people are going to look at you funny if you think getting a 270+ with at least 90/90/90 in each event is worthy of special recognition, since by my estimation about 70% of the division scores that high and probably another 20% is pretty close. Basically, it's not hard to score a 90/90/90, and it's strange to me that the army gives a badge that says "excellence" on it for such a simple feat. I think awarding the badge for scoring 300 on each PT test for 2 consecutive years would be more appropriate.

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Sep 13 at 2015 10:59 PM

2015-09-13T22:59:48-04:00

I earned it, but never wore it. For some reason, it just never felt like a real award.

Response by MSG Dan Castaneda made Jun 8 at 2016 2:36 PM

2016-06-08T14:36:34-04:00

In SF, we don't wear them. Well we don't wear Army PTs either.

Response by CPT Jacob Swartout made Feb 19 at 2017 12:46 AM

2017-02-19T00:46:35-05:00

SSG Private RallyPoint Member Honestly, I haven't seen too many wear the APFT Badge in recent years. I know a lot of Soldiers/NCOs/Officers that have earned it multiple times, to include myself, but for reasons don't actually wear it. I don't know if it is frowned upon by others in their units or just by personal choice but what I do know is my colleagues never mentioned it when they scored 290+ during the APFT. We just left it to that once the APFT was over. Even as a company commander I had 4-6 NCOs who scored 300 but none wore the patch. Three of them were master fitness too.

Response by 2LT Brian L. made Oct 12 at 2017 1:21 PM

2017-10-12T13:21:12-04:00

I would personally never wear it... it as stated elsewhere costs extra money to put on uniforms and for what? In the Infantry you would get laughed out of your unit. Ive only seen other MOS's or national guardsmen wear it. For me it seems unnecessary and slightly ridiculous to wear... to show the world you got a 90 in each event? Big deal. However if you feel the need to rock it ... go for it. My half cents of opinions.

Response by SSG Lisa Wright made Nov 11 at 2017 7:49 PM

2017-11-11T19:49:25-05:00

I would definitely wear it if I could possibly earn it; however, my permanent profile makes that forever impossible even if I were to max my events. Alternate aerobic events are graded GO or NO-GO; there are no points period, much less additional points for excellence in scoring better than the minimum standard.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 28 at 2019 12:32 AM

2019-04-28T00:32:09-04:00

Zombie Post!

This is an interesting topic because you'll see people earn the GAFPB and wear it proudly. Aside from the great points about the additional cost of sewing it one multiple shirts, there is a deeper stigma that sewing costs don't address. Soldiers have this thing with devaluing awards so that they produce the opposite effect of what they were intended for those who've earned them.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 16 at 2019 7:27 PM

2019-10-16T19:27:17-04:00

Question: APFT Badge Award Eligibility
The badge is awarded to soldiers who obtain a minimum total score of 270, with a minimum score of 90 on each event, of the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), and meet the weight control requirements in AR 600-9. Soldiers are required to meet the above criteria on each recorded test to continue to wear the badge.

What constitutes a "recorded test?"
Does this apply to diagnostic APFT? or strictly FOR RECORD.

Example:
Soldier takes a record, earns APFT badge.
Soldier takes a diagnostic a few months later, just shy of maintaining 70 on each event.
Are they still authorized to wear badge?