The Army is on the eve of rolling out new MOS-specific, gender-neutral fitness tests, and new details have begun to emerge.
The tests “should be good to go by June,” said Patrick Murphy, acting Army secretary, in a Tuesday interview with Army Times. That plan, and others related to adding women into previously closed military occupational specialties, is contingent on Defense Department approval.
While no final decisions have been made, it’s unlikely every MOS will get its own fitness test, owing to the impracticality of creating and conducting one for each specialty, Army test-developers said. One solution could involve implementing a single test and creating a tiered scoring system — soldiers with high marks could serve in the most physically demanding jobs, while those who eked out passing grades would have their MOS options restricted.
One reason the Army hasn't introduced such a test previously is that there is strong institutional pressure to simply keep the current Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). The concern is that any new tests will be in addition to, and not a substitute for, the APFT. And given the lack of training time available, additional training requirements are always met with resistance.
And one reason the APFT is popular is that it really requires no equipment. The only equipment needed is a stopwatch. And it can be conducted just about anywhere, any time.
Having said that, everyone knows that some jobs in the military are more physically demanding than others. The dental tech working in the clinic simply doesn't face the strains of a young mortarman humping a baseplate through the Hindu Kush. Maybe it is time to measure the readiness of an individual to perform that mission.
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