The newest branch plans on potentially eliminating a singular, specific annual test. The branch is hoping to lead the way into a future in which service-members are allowed to serve as long as they are job-proficient and healthy. The policy also specifies that testing physical fitness levels needs to happen only at least once a year, and it doesn’t dictate that the evaluation needs to be a literal test, something the the Space Force is reportedly taking in stride. Damaris Arias/ Marine Corps)īoth stories, she said, are examples of the poor behaviors the current body fat standards drive and why this change has been much-needed. The Air Force should have the plan out later this year she said.Ī Marine lifts weights at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Feb. Ryan Lucas)Īs for using the taping method, which has been heavily criticized in the past, how the branches choose to tape is now up to the service, as long as the method has been scientifically proven to be effective and accurate.Īny determination of body composition that relies on abdominal or waist circumference, for example, must use evidence-backed reference indexes that have been corrected for height so as to not unfairly affect short or tall servicemembers.Īccording to Laurel Tingley, a Media Operations Officer for the Air Force, the branch is currently developing a plan based on the new waist-to-height ratio policy that follows 1308.03′s update. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance.(U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States Europe, Africa and Central Command areas of responsibility. Army medic paratroopers assigned to various battalions within the 173rd Airborne Brigade participate in an Army Combat Fitness Test during a Best Medic Competition on Caserma Del Din, Italy, June 4-5, 2020.The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S.

Army body fat percentages