ARMY REVAMPS EXAM FOR FITNESS

The U.S. Army is kicking out the leg tuck requirement.

On Monday, it ended its requirement that soldiers do at least one leg tuck — where they hang from a bar and pull their knees up near their shoulders — as part of the new physical fitness test, as it became clear that many troops, particularly women, were unable to do it.

Now, soldiers will have the option of choosing another exercise called the plank, that also shows core strength.

That new option is just one of the changes Army leaders are making in their struggle to create a fitness test that is gender- and ageneutral, but that also doesn’t end up disadvantaging female or older soldiers who simply aren’t as strong as their younger male counterparts.

In a sweeping nod to gender differences, Army leaders said Monday they are also going to create a new tiered system that will mask some of the fitness score differences between men and women when it comes to promotions or other job selections.

Under that system, all soldiers will take the fitness test, which includes six different exercise events.

The minimum score for passing is 60 points on each event, for a total of 360, and the maximum is 100 points for each event, for a total of 600.

Soldiers will be assigned a ranking based on how they did compared to others of the same gender.

For example, if they score in the top 1 percent of their gender, they are in the platinum category, or if they are in the top 10 percent of their gender, they are in the gold group.

That ranking category would then show up on internal reports for promotions or other competitive assignments where a higher physical fitness score could be a deciding factor.