Changes are coming to the Air Force physical fitness assessment, but the service is not yet revealing what those are or when Airmen might expect to see them.
“The Air Force is finalizing updates to its Physical Fitness Assessment following a comprehensive 10-month review,” an Air Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
A message from Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David A. Flosi to other enlisted leaders hinted that the new test will include a two-mile run, and that Airmen will take the assessment twice a year rather than once a year. A portion of the message was shared on the unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco, and Air & Space Forces Magazine obtained the full text and verified its authenticity.
Flosi told the enlisted leaders that Airmen must be physically fit for combat, which they might face at any time.
“Any day could be the day—that’s what has been on my mind and the focus of your AF leadership this past couple weeks,” he wrote, referencing recent deployments to Europe and the Middle East as part of the U.S. response to rising tensions between Israel and Iran.
“At a basic level, America’s Air Force exists for very a simple capability—‘to kill people and blow s— up,’” Flosi added. “I am not being bold, this is not a soundbite. It is the reality of being an Airman in the Profession of Arms—we must be ready. Yes, PT changes are coming (not publicly released—this is for you to effectively communicate with your team)—to most of you this is no surprise.”
Three of the likely changes, Flosi wrote, include:
- Twice a year tests for the entire force, “not as a punishment for our fit Airmen … as an acknowledgement that fitness is a readiness issue and it makes a difference if ‘today is the day,’” the chief wrote. Airmen currently take the test once a year.
- A two-mile run “via updated scoring measures better aligned to joint force.” Airmen currently get to choose between a 1.5 mile run or a 20-meter high-aerobic multi-shuttle run (HAMR) for the test’s cardio portion.
- Scoring body composition via updated height-to-waist ratio charts. The Air Force announced its shift to the waist-to-height radio in January 2023, about three years after the service abandoned the abdominal circumference assessment, better known as the tape test, in 2020.
With the new body composition test, Airmen divide their waist by their height in inches. For example, an Airman who stands 69 inches tall and has a waist of 36 inches would have a waist-to-height ratio of 0.52. A cardiologist with expertise in obesity-related measurements told Air & Space Forces Magazine last year that the waist-to-height ratio is a more accurate health gauge than the Air Force’s previous methods, such as abdominal circumference and body mass index (BMI).
The pending changes come four years after the Air Force last updated its physical fitness test. In 2021, the service rolled out options for Airmen to choose how they test their cardio, arm, and abdominal strength.
Airmen can choose between the 1.5 mile run and 20-meter HAMR for cardio; between push-ups and hand-release push-ups (where Airmen lower their chest all the way to the ground and extend their hands out to the sides before pushing up again) for the arm portion; and between sit-ups, reverse crunches, and forearm planks for the abdominal portion. Before 2021, the only options were the 1.5 mile run, push-ups, and sit-ups.
An Air Force spokesperson said the changes align with a military-wide review of fitness standards directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 12. The service lowered its minimum fitness requirements across every age category for both men and women in May 2021.
“The Air Force acknowledges that post-COVID changes made in recent years did not effectively prepare Airmen to meet the demands of the current and future operational environments and is actively working to reverse that trend,” the spokesperson added. “Updates to the program will be formally released once the guidance is finalized.”
The Air Force is not the only branch reevaluating its PT assessments. On June 1, the Army officially adopted the Army Fitness Test, where Soldiers in combat jobs must pass a higher, sex-neutral standard while Soldiers in non-combat jobs must meet lower minimum scores that are separate for men and women.