Which regulation governs the AFT?
The AFT was established by Army Directive 2025-06 (Army Fitness Test), signed 17 April 2025 and effective 1 June 2025. It is administered under AR 350-1, the regulation covering Army training and leader development. Army Directive 2026-07, signed 17 April 2026, superseded it in part: it established the Combat Field Test and controls wherever it conflicts with AR 350-1 or the earlier directive. For a plain-language overview of everything that changed, see what changed in Army fitness in 2026.
Which Army Directive Number Is Which?
The fitness and body composition changes came in three separate directives, and the numbers are easy to mix up. Here is the correct number for each.
| Directive | What it covers | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| Army Directive 2025-06 | Army Fitness Test (AFT) | 1 June 2025 |
| Army Directive 2026-07 | Combat Field Test (CFT) | 17 April 2026 |
| Army Directive 2026-13 | Body composition (WHtR) | 7 July 2026 |
A note on a common mix-up: there is no “Army Directive 2026-06.” The Army’s own body composition FAQ mislabels the directive as 2026-06 in its heading, but the actual, signed directive is 2026-13. Likewise, “2025-17” was the old AFT body fat exemption directive, now rescinded.
The Directives Behind the AFT
Army Directive 2025-06
Army Fitness Test
Signed 17 April 2025, published 23 April 2025, effective 1 June 2025
The foundational directive. It established the AFT as the Army physical fitness test of record, replaced the ACFT, and set the standards soldiers are held to today. It was superseded in part by Army Directive 2026-07.
- •Establishes the AFT as the fitness test of record, replacing the ACFT.
- •The Army stopped conducting the ACFT after 31 May 2025.
- •Defines the 5 events: max deadlift, hand-release push-up, sprint-drag-carry, plank, and 2-mile run.
- •Sets the combat standard as sex-neutral and age-normed, minimum 60 points per event and 350 total.
- •Sets the general standard as normed by sex and age, minimum 60 points per event and 300 total.
- •Originally designated 21 combat specialties held to the 350-point standard.
- •Applies to the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and US Army Reserve.
Army Directive 2026-07
Army Physical Fitness Standards
Signed 17 April 2026
The 2026 update. It established the Combat Field Test as a separate annual requirement for combat specialties and updated AFT policy alongside it. Where it conflicts with AR 350-1 or Army Directive 2025-06, this directive controls.
- •Establishes the Combat Field Test (CFT) as an Army fitness requirement.
- •Applies the CFT to the 24 combat specialties listed in its Enclosure 2.
- •Designates 12D, 89D, and 89E as combat specialties, expanding the AFT combat standard list from 21 to 24.
- •Active component combat specialty soldiers take one record AFT and one record CFT annually.
- •Reserve component soldiers in combat specialties alternate between the AFT and CFT each calendar year.
- •Sets a minimum of 4 months between a record CFT and AFT, or 8 months for other RC soldiers.
- •The CFT is not a substitute for the AFT and there is no prerequisite between them.
- •The directive delegated the CFT time standard, which HQDA EXORD 103-26 published on 22 April 2026 as 30 minutes to complete all seven events.
Army Directive 2026-13
Army Body Composition Program and Standards
Effective 7 July 2026
The body composition overhaul. It made the waist-to-height ratio the sole Army Body Composition Program standard and rescinded the older methods. It is separate from the AFT, but it removed the fitness-test exemption that used to link the two.
- •Makes the waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) the sole body composition assessment.
- •Rescinds the tape/circumference method and the height and weight screening tables.
- •Sets the standard at a WHtR under 0.55 (waist at the navel divided by height), the same for every soldier.
- •Rescinds the AFT 465 body fat exemption (formerly Army Directive 2025-17). No AFT score exempts a soldier.
- •Requires at least 7 days between a soldier’s AFT or CFT and their WHtR screening.
- •Runs a 180-day assessment before any soldier is separated for a WHtR failure.
AFT Implementation Timeline
The AFT did not arrive all at once. Combat standards and the Combat Field Test phased in across 2025 and 2026, and the dates differ between the active component and the Reserve components.
17 April 2025
Army Directive 2025-06 signed
The directive establishing the AFT is signed, then published on the Army Publishing Directorate site on 23 April 2025.
15 May 2025
AFT scoring scales approved
The official AFT scoring tables are approved, to take effect with the test itself.
31 May 2025
Last day of the ACFT
The Army stops conducting the Army Combat Fitness Test.
1 June 2025
AFT becomes the test of record
Phased implementation begins. The AFT replaces the ACFT for all soldiers.
Sep to Dec 2025
Voluntary reclassification window
Soldiers in combat MOSs who could not meet the 350 combat standard could request voluntary reclassification.
1 January 2026
Combat standard takes effect (active)
New scoring standards for soldiers in designated combat MOSs take effect for the active component.
17 April 2026
Army Directive 2026-07 signed
The Combat Field Test is established for combat specialties. Phased diagnostic testing begins, and 12D, 89D, and 89E are designated combat specialties.
1 June 2026
Combat standard takes effect (RC)
Combat standard scoring takes effect for the Army National Guard and US Army Reserve.
7 July 2026
Army Directive 2026-13 takes effect
The waist-to-height ratio replaces the tape test as the sole body composition standard, and the AFT 465 body fat exemption is rescinded.
16 April 2027
CFT grace period ends
The last day on which a failed CFT carries no adverse administrative action. Full implementation testing for record begins 17 April 2027.
What the Directive Requires
Army Directive 2025-06 sets two separate standards. The combat standard is sex-neutral and age-normed: soldiers in designated combat specialties must score at least 60 points on every event and reach a total of 350. The general standard is normed by both sex and age, requiring at least 60 points per event and a total of 300.
The per-event minimum matters more than soldiers often assume. Scoring below 60 on any single event fails the entire test regardless of total. A soldier who scores 490 with one event at 55 has failed.
A soldier in a combat MOS who meets the general standard but falls short of 350 is subject to in-service reclassification. See our AFT standards page for the full requirements by age group, or check your score against them with the AFT calculator.
Related Army Policy
Army Directive 2026-13, effective July 7, 2026, overhauled the Army Body Composition Program (previously under AR 600-9). It made the waist-to-height ratio the sole standard, rescinded the tape test and height/weight tables, and rescinded the old AFT 465 body fat exemption. Fitness and body composition are now assessed independently. Our Army WHtR calculator uses the current waist-to-height method.
AR 600-8-2 covers the suspension of favorable personnel actions, the flagging mechanism referenced in Combat Field Test failure policy.
ALARACT messages carry implementation detail for the directives, including guidance on Army Body Composition Program exemptions tied to AFT performance.
Where to Find the Official PDF
Army directives are published by the Army Publishing Directorate (armypubs.army.mil). To find the AFT regulation PDF, search Army Pubs for the directive number: search “2025-06” for the Army Fitness Test, “2026-07” for the Combat Field Test, or “2026-13” for the body composition standard. Download from an official Army source rather than a third-party mirror, since third-party copies go stale when a directive is updated or superseded.