Combat Fitness Test

The Combat Fitness Test (CFT) is an annual physical fitness test of the United States Marine Corps. The purpose of the CFT is to assess a Marine's physical capacity in a broad spectrum of combat related tasks. The CFT was specifically designed to evaluate strength, stamina, agility, and coordination as well as overall anaerobic capacity. The CFT is a complement to the USMC Physical Fitness Test and measures the functional elements of combat fitness through execution of a series of events that represent every Marine's combat experience, emphasizing the ethos of "every Marine is a rifleman."[1] All active duty and reserve Marines are required to conduct the Combat Fitness Test every year between the dates 1 July to 1 January. The test is designed to test each Marine's ability to perform in a high-intensity setting. The British Army formerly used a test of the same name which is currently known as the Annual Fitness Test.

United States Marine Corps

In the Marine Corps, the Combat Fitness Test has three events:[2]

  • an 880-yard "Movement to Contact" run in boots and utility pants
  • two minutes of lifting a 30-pound ammo can over the head, earning 1–2 points for each number done in the time limit
  • the "Maneuver Under Fire" drill is part obstacle course, part conditioning, and part combat test:
    • 10-yard sprint
    • 15-yard crawl (low then high crawl)
    • hauling a simulated casualty using two different carries: drag and fireman's carry over 75 yards zigzagging through cones
    • sprint while carrying two 30-pound ammo cans over 75 yards through the same cones
    • throwing a dummy hand grenade into a marked circle 22.5 yards away (adding 5 seconds to total time if missed, and subtracting 5 seconds if hit)
    • 5 pushups and a sprint with the ammo cans to the finish line.

This test was implemented in mid-2008 by Commandant of the Marine Corps James T. Conway as a more combat oriented version of, but supplement to, the Physical Fitness Test.

Scoring

Marine Corps CFTs are scored the following way for males:[3]

Movement to contact

Age 17-20: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 2 minutes and 40 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

Age 21-25: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 2 minutes and 38 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 3 minutes and 45 seconds.

Age 26-30: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 2 minutes and 39 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 3 minutes and 48 seconds.

Age 31-35: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 2 minutes and 42 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 3 minutes and 51 seconds.

Age 36-40: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 2 minutes and 45 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 3 minutes and 58 seconds.

Age 41-45: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 2 minutes and 52 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 4 minutes and 11 seconds.

Age 46-50: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 3 minutes and 1 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

Age 51+: A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in 3 minutes and 5 seconds or less. The minimum passing score is 5 minutes and 7 seconds.

Ammo lift

A perfect score of 100 is achieved with 91 ammo can lifts. Points are deducted as follows:

  • 100 pts for 113-115 lifts
  • 98 pts for 88 lifts
  • 97 pts for 87-86 lifts
  • 96 pts for 85 lifts
  • 95 pts for 84 lifts

Then the cycle begins again (roughly it is -5 pts for every 7 lifts less than 91 lifts, down to 33 lifts).

Marine Corps CFTs are scored the following way for females (age 17-26):

Movement to contact

A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in under 3 minutes and 23 seconds. One point is deducted for each additional 2 seconds up to a final time of 5 minutes and 27 seconds (5.27).

Ammo lift

A perfect score of 100 is achieved with 91 ammo can lifts. Deducting points for this event is fairly straightforward: every lift less than 60 subtracts 1 point (except for lifts 52, 53, 38, 39, 23, and 24 which only subtract 1/2 a point).

Maneuver under fire

A perfect score of 100 is earned by completing this task in under 3 minutes and 1 seconds (3.01). One point is deducted for each additional 2 seconds up to the longest time of 5 minutes and 59 seconds (5.59).

References

  1. ^ "Marines.mil - Marine Corps Publications Electronic Library". www.marines.mil. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  2. ^ CFT on hqmc.marines.mil
  3. ^ CFT scoring on marine website on hqmc.marines.mil