Dumb and Dumber: The Army’s New PT Test - War on the Rocks

I think this test will but the Reserves and NG in a bad spot for a few reasons.
1. I think that soldiers who aren't prepared for it will much more likely injure themselves taking it. Currently if you aren't ready for the APFT you simply fail it. But with the ACFT, if you sit on the couch all month and then show up and try to show out doing power moves you're going to hurt yourself.
2. Soldiers will have to come out of pocket for gym memberships or equipment to be able to practice many of these exercises. Show me another area where we expect soldiers to foot the bill for their training.
3. I can currently conduct an APFT in my company every month. We start at 0500 and the guys taking (retaking) it are still at formation at 0700. With the ACFT, we either won't have the equipment to take it monthly (or whenever we want/need) or won't have the time. AD guys will say that soldiers should only have to take it once and pass it. I get it. I spent plenty of time on AD but the NG is a different animal. Put my company on orders for 30-45 days and the PT test won't be an issue but as it is now, it is an issue for many.
4. My constant question in all of this has been, "What's wrong with the current test?" Does the Army have a problem with soldiers passing the APFT but not being able to perform in combat? If so, up the standards. For instance, I don't recall ever seeing a soldier who can score 270 on the APFT who had physical issues overseas. You can even cut out the age and gender differences. Does the 2-mile run mimic combat? No. Neither does the bench press mimic football at the NFL Combine. But it gives them a snapshot of strength. So it stands to reason that if you can run 2 miles quickly and do a bunch of situps and pushups then you'll be ok when bullets start flying.
5. If you want to change the APFT, add pull-ups to it. Sorry, that's the Marine in me coming out. :)

Eh, we'll meet the standard as always. I'm glad that they are making the same standard apply across the board. Additionaly as far as folks on profile goes, can't meet the standard because of an injury, maybe you should get out or be retired. A good number of peolle ride those permanents when they are capable of performing. If you had back and knee surgery and can't run, how effective are you really going to be "in combat" according to HQ....sm fails run by 2 seconds and is deemed a failure and ineffective....sm cant run at all due to injury gets a pass because dr said so....

Having taken this test a few times and administered it a few times, I will say that without in-depth instruction on the events and plenty of administering cadre, it can be... well, not as intended.

But, when the fitness school administered the test for us it was super smooth and quite a overall physically demanding event. Which, I can only assume, means that a more accurate evaluation of my fitness could be attained.

I’m not so much interested in if it the ACFT is a good idea or not, it doesn’t matter- it’s happening. I am just curious to see where we’re at with it in 5-10 years.