American troops serving in occupations closest to direct combat will now have to meet a higher annual fitness standard under newly released Pentagon rules.
The policy requires personnel in designated “combat arms” positions to maintain scores of at least 70 percent on their service specific fitness tests.
The Department of War memo, released August 31, applies to military jobs whose training and primary duties center on direct combat. More than 80 military occupations across the services fall under the combat arms designation.
The annual service fitness test is not the only physical hurdle these troops must clear. Combat arms personnel must also complete a separate combat field test every year under standards established by their individual service.
Precisely what “70%” means will vary because the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force use different tests and scoring systems.
Officials from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps said their services are determining or applying their own rules for meeting the cutoff.
For the Army, the requirement will largely reflect standards already in place.
Soldiers in designated combat occupations, including infantry, armor and Special Forces, must score at least 350 out of 500 possible points on the five event Army Fitness Test.
Those soldiers must also earn a minimum of 60 points on every event. The test includes a three repetition maximum deadlift, hand release pushups, the sprint drag carry, a plank and a two mile run.
An Army soldier does not need to earn 70 points on every individual event.
A score below 70 in one event can be offset by stronger performances elsewhere, as long as the soldier earns at least 60 on each event and reaches the overall 350 point threshold.
The Marine Corps said the Pentagon policy does not alter its existing requirements for combat arms Marines. Maj. Hector Infante, a Marine Corps spokesperson, said those standards took effect January 1 under a policy issued last year.
Combat arms Marines must score at least 210 out of 300 possible points on the Physical Fitness Test, which is equivalent to 70 percent, using the male scoring table. They must also meet the minimum standard for each individual event.
The Marine test includes three events: pullups or pushups, a plank and a three mile run. The policy keeps a clear baseline for Marines expected to perform demanding missions where physical weakness can quickly become a threat to the entire unit.
The Navy applies its 70 percent requirement differently, particularly because its combat arms population is smaller and primarily concentrated in Naval Special Warfare.
Those sailors must earn at least 70 out of 100 points on every Physical Readiness Test event for which they are medically cleared.
Unlike soldiers, sailors cannot compensate for an event score below 70 by piling up additional points elsewhere.
The Navy said the latest Pentagon instruction restates guidance that was issued in December 2025.
Combat arms sailors must also complete a separate Combat Fitness Test.
It includes an 800 meter swim with fins, weighted pushups, weighted pullups and a weighted one mile run, with sailors carrying an additional 20 pounds during each weighted event.
The Air Force has not yet clarified how its 70 percent requirement will work within the ongoing overhaul of its Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment. That 100 point test measures cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, core endurance and body composition.
Separate scoring charts already exist for Air Force Special Warfare and explosive ordnance disposal personnel.
An Air Force official said body composition is now part of an airman’s overall score through a waist to height ratio calculated by dividing the waist measurement by height.
Airmen with a ratio of .55 or higher who also receive an unsatisfactory overall fitness score must undergo a second body fat assessment.
The Air Force is working to distribute InBody770 bioimpedance scales for those secondary reviews, while installations without the machines will continue using tape measurements.
The service announced in 2020 that waist measurements would be permanently removed from fitness test scoring after years of criticism.
Waist to height measurements returned in 2023 through a separate body composition program, but they did not count toward fitness scores at that time.
Under the new program, body composition once again contributes to an airman’s overall result.
The renewed focus across the services sends a simple message: troops assigned to direct combat missions must be physically prepared for the unforgiving demands of war, not merely capable of scraping past the lowest institutional standard.
