Almost half of the U.S. Army’s female soldiers are failing the new fitness test, while male soldiers continue to pass easily.
“Female soldiers continue to lag male soldier scores in all events,” according to a United States Army Forces Command briefing.
Army figures show that 44% of female soldiers failed the Army Combat Fitness test, while only 7% of men have failed the same test.
The new test, which launched seven months ago, has the same standards for both men and women. But with over 100,000 scores logged since the launch of the test, women have continued to struggle to meet that standard.
ARMY ADMITS GENDER-NEUTRAL FITNESS TESTS ARE NOT POSSIBLE
While the most difficult event for both groups is the two-mile run, women fail the event over four times more often than men. While men have a fail rate of 2% or below in all other events, women have logged fail rates of 6%, 15%, 2%, 12%, and 22%.
Enlisted women have suffered the most with the new test, failing it 53% of the time. Female officers have so far fared better, failing 23% of the time.
The disparity isn’t just felt among those who fail the test, with women who do pass logging average scores significantly below the average score of their male counterparts. Enlisted women have logged an average score of 343 points on the test, compared to 461 points for enlisted men. A minimum of 360 points is needed to pass the test.
The numbers call into question the wisdom of applying the same fitness standards to men and women, since fitness test scores are critical to a soldier’s career progression. High scores can open up the doors to new training opportunities and promotions, while low scores are often a factor in holding soldiers back.
So far, the Army is standing by the new test, though leaders have acknowledged changes could be in the works.
“The ACFT — as part of the Army’s overall physical readiness program — continues to evolve, reduce injuries and empower Soldiers to perform basic Soldier tasks,” a FORSCOM spokesman said. “The ACFT is in a transitional period. Data already shows that the ACFT is a better measure of a Soldier’s ability to successfully complete combat-related warrior tasks and battle drills.”
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The Army is currently in the beta phase of testing the new program, meaning right now, the failing scores are not a detriment to a soldier’s career. New changes, such as gender-specific standards, could still come before the planned end of the beta phase in March 2022.
