US army to test enlisted men and women with same physical standards
The US army unveiled plans Monday to require a fitness test with identical physical standards for men and women in combat positions after the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ordered the elimination of gender-based fitness requirements in frontline roles.
The revamped Army Fitness Test, which replaces the Combat Fitness Test, will be 'sex-neutral' and force female soldiers in 21 combat specialties to meet the same benchmarks as men – a change expected to drastically cut the number of women qualifying for these positions.
'The five-event AFT is designed to enhance Soldier fitness, improve warfighting readiness, and increase the lethality of the force,' the Army said in a press release.
Gone is the 'standing power throw' or 'ball yeet', replaced with a streamlined assessment of deadlifts, push-ups, planks, a two-mile run and a sprint-drag-carry exercise. For younger women, the standards jump significantly – deadlifting 140lbs instead of 120, and shaving nearly 90 seconds off required run times.
The new policy appears to contradict findings from a 2017 study of US army soldiers that concluded 'gaps in cardiorespiratory and muscular performances between men and women should be addressed through targeted physical training programs that aim to minimize physiological differences' rather than applying identical standards.
A 2022 Rand Corporation study also found that women and older service members were failing the previous fitness test 'at significantly higher rates than men and younger troops', which raises questions about the feasibility of the new standardized requirements.
Combat soldiers must now score 'a minimum of 60 points per event and an overall minimum score of 350' under the sex-neutral standards, according to the army's press release. Active-duty troops have until January 2026 to meet requirements, while national guard and reserve members have until June 2026.
Hegseth has previously said that he doesn't think women should be allowed to serve in combat roles, though he later moderated his stance. The former Fox News host wrote in a recent book that 'women cannot physically meet the same standards as men' and that moms are needed 'but not in the military, especially in combat units'.
Soldiers who fail to meet the new standards twice consecutively face potential removal from the army or, according to Sgt Maj Christopher Mullinax, would be required to transfer to non-combat roles, which will continue using sex- and age-based scoring.
The army will begin rolling out the changes on1 June, with full implementation guidelines expected in May.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump using military in provocative ways with protests, parade
Trump's approach to the military is coming into focus again during a week that began with the Commander-in-Chief deploying Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objection of Gov. Gavin Newsom, and will end with the planned military parade celebrating the Army's birthday. "I think Trump looks at the military as political props used to demonstrate his authority," said former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton, now a frequent critic of the president. Trump's recent military actions and parade plans are drawing comparisons to authoritarian regimes. Newsom said Trump is acting like a "dictator." Administration officials have said the military is needed in L.A. to maintain order. Questioned by members of Congress about the troop deployment during a June 10 hearing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the situation in L.A. as "lawless" and said, "President Trump believes in law and order." "If we didn't get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning," Trump said June 10 during an event in the Oval Office. In the past, Trump's views on the military and concerns about how he might wield troops domestically have generated bipartisan pushback. After Trump lost the 2020 election and refused to accept the results, all 10 living secretaries of Defense - Republicans and Democrats - signed a letter urging military leaders not to get involved in the election aftermath, signaling apprehension that Trump would use the military in ways they described as "dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional." Former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn suggested in a television interview after the 2020 election that the president could invoke martial law and seize voting machines to rerun the election, which former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper later described in his book as "scary." Trump asked Flynn about the martial law idea during a White House meeting in December 2020, according to media reports. With that backdrop, Democrats and other Trump critics are raising concerns about the potential consequences of Trump's decision to send troops to Los Angeles, his planned parade and future military escalations he might consider. During his first term, military leaders sometimes pushed back on his suggestions, people who "we may euphemistically call, 'the adults in the room,'" said William Banks, a constitutional law professor emeritus at Syracuse University and founding director of the Institute on National Security and Counter Terrorism. "I think his senior people today are of a far different caliber," Banks said. "Put pejoratively, they're sycophants." Mulling the Insurrection Act Some Legal experts question whether Trump has the authority to circumvent Newsom and deploy the California National Guard under the law he's using. California has sued to stop Trump's deployment. "It's sort of wading into uncharted legal territory, and it raises a lot of legal questions and concerns, frankly, the way that he is using this law," said Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Looming over the discussion is the Insurrection Act, which Trump sought to invoke during his first term. It gives the president wide leeway to use troops domestically. Trump is using federal troops to protect federal property and law enforcement in L.A. The Insurrection Act would give him expanded authority to use troops for policing, experts say. "The Insurrection Act is dangerously broad... something close to a blank check if he chooses to take the political hit for invoking it," said Duke Law Professor H. Jefferson Powell. Congress adopted the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878, barring the military from engaging in domestic law enforcement unless authorized, such as through the Insurrection Act. It reflects "a centuries-old principle in Anglo-American law against military interference in civilian affairs," Goitein, of the Brennan Center, said. "If the leader of a country can turn the military inward against the people, that has great implications for individual liberties," Goitein added. "It is a step on the path to tyranny, if not an indication of tyranny itself." Trump mulled invoking the Act during a White House event on June 10. "If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it," Trump said. "We'll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible." Trump said there were parts of Los Angeles on June 9 where "you could have called it an insurrection. It was terrible." The Insurrection Act has been invoked 30 times, most recently in May 1992 by President George H.W. Bush at the request of California Gov. Pete Wilson to police rioting in Los Angeles after four White police officers were acquitted for beating Black motorist Rodney King. Presidents from both parties have considered invoking the act against the wishes of state governors, such as during civil rights conflicts during the 1950s and 1960s. More recently, some Democrats urged former President Joe Biden to deploy the National Guard to remove razor-wire barriers that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott installed along the border with Mexico, but he didn't. Banks said Trump appeared to be edging back from invoking the Act, which could have long-term consequences. "It could be corrosive," Banks said. Bolton, Trump's former aide, predicted any effort by Trump to use the Insurrection Act would end up in court, but said, "I also don't think we should get paranoid and just engage in speculation about what he might do." Trump has been careful to steer clear of the Insurrection Act so far, Bolton noted. 'Can't you just shoot them' Esper, the former Defense secretary, resisted Trump's efforts to invoke the Insurrection Act during his first term. Esper's book describes an Oval Office meeting with Trump, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and other administration officials on June 1, 2020, as "probably one of the most significant meetings a secretary of defense ever had with a commander in chief." During the meeting, which occurred amid protests in Washington, D.C., and around the country following the death of George Floyd - an unarmed Black man killed by Minneapolis police - Trump repeatedly brought up the Insurrection Act and pushed to use active-duty troops to quell protests, Esper wrote. "Can't you just shoot them Just shoot them in the legs or something," Trump said, according to Esper. "I didn't have to look at General Milley to know his reaction," Esper wrote. "I was sure it was the same as mine: Utter disgust at the suggestion, and a feeling we were only minutes away from a disastrous outcome." Esper wrote that Trump eventually "backed down." His book details other concerns about Trump's approach to the military, including a proposal for a July 4 celebration in 2020 featuring a fleet of military vehicles that he worried would politicize the military. Milley told Trump's chief of staff that such displays were "not what the United States does - it was what authoritarian states like North Korea do," according to Esper. The same concerns have been raised about Trump's military parade planned for June 14, which will celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary with tanks and other vehicles rolling through the streets of the nation's capital. Trump's 79th birthday is the same day. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, called it a "dictator-style military parade." "There's nothing wrong with military parades when there's reason for them, but the fact it's Trump's birthday on Saturday is not a good reason for it," Bolton said. Trump said on June 10 that the parade would be "fantastic" and warned people protesting would be met with "very heavy force." "It's going to be an amazing day," he said. "We have tanks, we have planes, we have all sorts of things. And I think it's going to be great. We're going to celebrate our country for a change."
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump returns to Confederate base names
"We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort A.P. Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee. We won a lot of battles out of those forts -- it's no time to change," Trump said. "And I'm superstitious, you know, I like to keep it going right." Trump has long sought to keep the original base names in place. He vetoed legislation at the end of his first term, in 2020, that authorized the creation of an independent commission to recommend name changes. Congress repassed the bill, which came in the wake of racial justice protests, with bipartisan support. The Department of Defense restored the names of two military bases upon Trump's return to office -- Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. and Fort Benning in Georgia, which was briefly called Fort Moore. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth skirted the commission by finding soldiers from later wars who shared a surname with the once-honored Confederates. More: Confederate names are being scrubbed from US military bases. The list of ideas to replace them is 30,000 deep. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule, who was the vice chair of the commission, said Trump is "overturning the will of the American people through their elected representatives who set up the Naming Commission," which selected "true American heroes who fought for our great nation and reflect the best of our values." The retired one-star general, who is the former head of the history department at the United States Military Academy at West Point, said Confederate soldiers "chose treason to preserve and expand human bondage. They represent the worst of America."
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
Army restores the names of seven bases that lost their Confederate-linked names under Biden
Seven Army bases whose names were changed in 2023 because they honored Confederate leaders are all reverting back to their original names, the Army said Tuesday. The announcement came just hours after President Donald Trump previewed the decision, telling troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that he was changing the names back. Fort Bragg, which was changed to Fort Liberty by the Biden administration, was the first to have its original name restored after the Army found another person with the same last name. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was with Trump at Fort Bragg, signed an order restoring the name in February. 'Can you believe they changed that name in the last administration for a little bit?' Trump said. 'We'll forget all about that.' In March, Hegseth reversed the decision changing Fort Benning in Georgia to Fort Moore. To restore the original names of the additional seven bases, the Army once again found service members with the same last names to honor. Those bases are Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Robert E. Lee in Virginia, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Rucker in Alabama. The decision strips names chosen in 2023 to honor top leaders, such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as Black soldiers and women. No women are included in the new Army list. There was no immediate cost estimate for changing all the signs at the bases, just two years after they were revamped. Fort A.P. Hill Originally it was named after Confederate Gen. Ambrose P. Hill, before being renamed Fort Walker after Mary Edwards Walker, a doctor who treated soldiers in the Civil War and later received a Medal of Honor. Now it will be named to commemorate three different people: Medal of Honor recipients Lt. Col. Edward Hill, 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Pvt. Bruce Anderson for heroism during the Civil War. Fort Pickett Fort Pickett was changed to Fort Barfoot in honor of Tech Sgt. Van Barfoot, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War II. It will now honor 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during World War II when he fired grenades while pinned down by enemy machine gun fire and destroyed enemy positions. He was captured, then escaped and rejoined his unit, but was killed in action. Fort Lee Fort Lee was changed to a hyphenated name, Fort Gregg-Adams, and was the only one to commemorate someone who remained alive at the time — Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg. He was known as a logistics leader and died last year. Lt. Col. Charity Adams — the other half of the name — led the first female Black unit of the Army deployed in World War II. Fort Lee will now be named for Pvt. Fitz Lee, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Spanish-American War, when he moved under fire to rescue wounded comrades. Fort Gordon Fort Gordon was changed to Fort Eisenhower to commemorate the former president's time leading Allied forces in Europe in World War II. It will now be named for Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon. He was honored for his valor during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, where he defended wounded crew members at a helicopter crash site and held off an advancing enemy force. Fort Hood Fort Hood was changed to Fort Cavazos in honor of Gen. Richard Cavazos, the Army's first Hispanic four-star, who served in the Korean War and got the Distinguished Service Cross. It will now honor Col. Robert B. Hood. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during World War I, when he directed artillery fire in France. Fort Polk Fort Polk was changed to Fort Johnson after Black Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. William Henry Johnson, who served in World War I. It will now honor Silver Star recipient Gen. James H. Polk. Then-Col. Polk was honored for gallantry during World War II, when he led reconnaissance and combat missions under fire. He later served as head of U.S. Army Europe. Fort Rucker Fort Rucker was named Fort Novosel after Medal of Honor recipient Chief Warrant Officer Michael Novosel, who served in World War II and Vietnam. It will now honor Capt. Edward W. Rucker. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in World War I when he flew deep behind enemy lines in a daring air battle over France.
