Newarmy fitness test may pushwomen out
An Army initiative to create a stronger, fitter fighting force has yielded a dramatic gender gap, raising questions about whether the service might unintentionally compound barriers for women trying to move up the ranks.
Recent Army figures show that 54 percent of female soldiers failed the new Army Combat Fitness Test, which is being rolled out on a provisional basis, compared with 7 percent of men during the second quarter of 2020.
That reflects a significant improvement over last year, when leaked data showed that over 80 percent of a smaller cohort of female test-takers failed the sixevent exam. But some women fear they won’t be able to pass even with additional training or will continue to score lower than men, potentially affecting their career prospects in an institution already struggling to shed historical gender and racial disparities.
The test, which will become the service’s official fitness test next month, has prompted a broader debate over whether the service’s focus on fitness and strength will elevate physical prowess over other qualities, such as effective and ethical leadership, or make it harder to retain troops with skills needed in an era of high-techmilitary competition.
Army officials say the new ageand gender-blind fitness test, the first of its kind in the U.S. military, was developed to reduce injuries and better prepare soldiers for the demands of fighting, expressing confidence that training will help female troops eventually meet the new standards.
Officials also say the test may be modified before results are incorporated into soldiers’ evaluations, likely in 2022, when it could begin to affect promotions and future assignments.
“Combat is age and genderneutral,” said Maj. Gen. Lonnie Hibbard, commanding general of the Army’s Center for Initial Military Training, which designed the new test. “And so regardless of your gender or, more importantly,
your (military profession), we have to ensure that everybody is prepared for combat.”
The performance imbalance is rooted primarily in one of the test’s six events, the leg tuck, which requires troops to hang froma pull-up bar with their arms extended before lifting themselves up using abdominal and arm muscles.
Soldiers must pass all six events, which also include carrying kettlebells and dragging sleds across a field, throwing a 10pound ball backward over their heads, performing hand-release push-ups and completing a 2-mile run. The Army’s previous test required troops to do only sit-ups, push-ups and a 2-mile run, and was adjusted for age and gender.
Designed to simulate combat
One female soldier, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of damaging her career, said she attained high scores on the old test. But despite
years of exercising to enhance her upper-body strength, including during periods of intense workouts on overseas deployments, she remains unable to do even a single pull-up or leg tuck. “I can’t even start to flex” upward, she said.
The soldier, who had a baby this year, said she worries the increased emphasis on muscular strength will eventually lead her and other females to leave the military earlier than planned.
“You’re not going to have a lot of females make it to the top,” she said.
While women now represent about 15 percent of Army personnel, they remain a small minority among the top enlisted and officer ranks, as they do in other services. A recent government watchdog report found thatwomen are likely to leave the military earlier than men and said Pentagon leaders lack adequate plans to integrate women.
Army officials say the new test
is designed to simulate aspects of combat, such as dodging enemy fire or dragging a wounded comrade across a field. Those tasks are important not just for soldiers dispatched to the front lines but also for support troops who may also come under attack.
Under the proposed system, troopswould have to pass the test to enter and remain in the Army, but the standards would differ according tomilitary profession. An infantry or artillery soldier, for example, would be required to do more leg tucks than someone working in logistics or aircraft maintenance. Within those three tiers designated by military profession, soldiers receive a higher or lower score based on their performance.
‘You’ve got to work on it’
In response to women’s high failure rate to date, the Army is temporarily allowing troops who cannot complete a leg tuck to do a two-minute plank instead.
“Whatwe’re really trying to figure out is how do you incentivize excellence in improving physical fitness without adversely impacting any demographic negatively within the Army,” Hibbard said.
Officials say they are analyzing evolving data on female performance and expect the statistics to improve. In two recent basic training classes, 100 percent of the women passed, Hibbard said.
Some female troops say they believe that more rigorous standards are overdue.
One female soldier said the previous version was too easy. While she failed the test last fall and still can’t do a leg tuck, she has been using a pull-up assist machine to train and said she’s close.
“If you’re serious about staying in themilitary, you’ve got to work on it,” she said.
But for those who can’t meet the minimum standard or who pass but score significantly lower than men, the test could affect their careers. That could occur most directly for enlisted personnel, whose fitness scores have long counted toward their promotion via a points system. Army officials say it has not been decided whether the new test will be used in the same way for enlisted personnel once it is finalized.
While the Marines has higher standards for pulls-ups on its genderand age-adjusted physical fitness test, requiring 26- to 30-yearold women to do a minimum of four, it gives troops the option to do push-ups instead, even though that alternative assigns them a lower score.
The Navy and Air Force do not require pull-ups for either gender.
To address concerns of female soldiers who have recently given birth or plan to become pregnant, the Army is working on new fitness regulations for postpartum soldiers. In the meantime, soldiers have 180 days after giving birth to take the test,.
Troops can seek a physicianapproved exemption allowing them to postpone taking the test after giving birth, like they can for other medical reasons. But if they seek repeated exemptions, they can be pushed out of the Army.