New Ranger School Test Focuses on Combat Readiness, Adds Functional Fitness

The U.S. Army has introduced a revised Ranger School fitness assessment to more accurately evaluate combat preparedness, substituting conventional activities with functional fitness tasks. The revised Ranger Physical Fitness Assessment (RPFA), effective April 21, removes sit-ups and intensifies the physical requirements for candidates.

Brig. Gen. Phil Kiniery, commandant of the Army Infantry School, asserted that the modifications correspond with the Army's contemporary fitness paradigm. “Push-ups and sit-ups are no longer the Army standard,” Kiniery stated, emphasizing that the former exam was antiquated and inadequately assessed a soldier’s functional strength and endurance.

The Army has introduced an updated physical fitness test, requiring soldiers to finish a challenging sequence in 14 minutes, while donning a combat uniform and boots. The rigorous evaluation commences with an 800-meter run, succeeded by 30 dead-stop push-ups, a 100-meter sprint, and 16 sandbag lifts, each requiring the elevation of a 40-pound bag onto a 68-inch platform. Subsequently, troops must do a 50-meter farmers' carry with two 40-pound water cans, a 25-meter high crawl followed by a 25-meter sprint lasting three to five seconds, and culminating with an 800-meter run.

Candidates must finish a four-mile run in under 32 minutes and execute six chin-ups.

The last assessment mandated 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, a five-mile run within 40 minutes, and six chin-ups. Kiniery revealed that the new assessment corresponds with the Army's overarching transition towards functional fitness, a training methodology emphasizing movements replicating actual combat demands.

Ranger School, an Army program that is highly demanding, comprises three phases held at Fort Benning, in the North Georgia highlands, and in the Florida swamps. Soldiers who successfully complete the arduous 61-day program get the esteemed black-and-yellow Ranger Tab.

The Army's action signifies a broader trend in military fitness. The Marine Corps implemented its Combat Fitness Test in 2008, emphasizing combat-related activities such as sprints, ammunition loads, and casualty transports. In 2022, the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) supplanted the obsolete Army Physical Fitness Test, including exercises to minimize injuries and enhance battlefield efficacy.

Since women were admitted to Ranger School in 2015, over 150 female troops have attained their Ranger Tabs, demonstrating their capacity to fulfill the identical stringent criteria as their male colleagues.

The Army is advancing its training with the new RPFA to ensure soldiers are physically equipped for contemporary combat conditions.