An airman records run times during a fitness test at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in 2020. An Air Force policy rolled out in April ends the option of alternative exercises for basic and technical trainees taking the service's fitness test, leaving only the traditional pushups, situps and a 1.5-mile run. (Callie Ware/U.S. Air Force)
Air Force basic and technical trainees no longer have any alternative exercises available in the service’s fitness test, as only the three traditional events are now being used in the assessment for them.
As the result of a change that was quietly rolled out in April, trainees taking the fitness test must do pushups, situps and a 1.5-mile run, Capt. Paige Skinner, a spokeswoman for 2nd Air Force, which oversees the basic military training and technical training programs, said Thursday.
Trainees had been allowed alternate methods such as reverse crunches in place of situps to retest only on the portion of the fitness assessment they failed, Skinner said.
Under the new policy, trainees must complete the test using only the conventional components. If they fail any part, they have to retake the entire assessment without substitution.
Though alternate components were introduced in 2022 as part of a broader fitness modernization effort, Air Force members going through basic training and technical training continued to test using the previous format.
They were, however, permitted to select alternate components on retests.
Skinner’s confirmation of the change comes just days after online posting of a message from Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi outlining an expected overhaul of the service’s physical training regimen.
Flosi mentioned the likelihood of adjustments to the run distance and testing frequency, among other things.
While Flosi’s message did not mention the removal of alternate components, changes in Air Force basic training have previously signaled broader policy shifts in the service.
In 2003, the Air Force announced tougher fitness standards for basic trainees just days before unveiling details of a new service-wide fitness testing program.
