In the United States Army, you must take a physical fitness test, whether it’s the APFT or the new ACFT. So it depends on when you’re taking it.
Consequences of failing the ACFT
But what happens if you fail the physical fitness test, the ACFT? You will get a counseling statement saying, “Hey, you failed a physical fitness test.” You will then be placed on what’s called remedial PT.
- If you fail the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), you’ll get a counseling statement and be placed on remedial PT.
ACFT Failure and Remedial PT NCO
Remedial PT means you must do physical fitness twice a day.
On average, a soldier will do physical fitness in the morning and work during the day.
But if you fail the ACFT or don’t meet weight and tape requirements, you will be placed on remedial PT and do physical fitness twice a day.
The Army will place a non-commissioned officer, probably someone who’s already passed the ACFT test or is in decent shape, in charge for a day with the soldiers for remedial PT.
It’s usually mixed each day, though it won’t be an Asset NCO every single day. Usually, it’ll be like tasking, where a certain NCO gets tasks for the day to lead remedial PT and work with those individuals for about an hour.
You will be doing this twice a day, for however long. It could be a month or two months, whatever the case.
- Remedial PT means you will have to do physical fitness twice a day.
- They’ll place a non-commissioned officer in charge of that day’s remedial PT with the soldiers.
- You’ll be doing this twice a day for however long; maybe it’s a month, maybe two months, whatever the case.
Diagnostic PT tests
During the remedial PT timeframe, you’ll be doing practice diagnostic PT tests, like practice ACFT tests. That will help you gauge where you’re at and where you’re improving before retaking another ACFT and hopefully passing it.
Retaking ACFT
How many chances will you be given to retake the ACFT? That depends on the leadership in your unit.
I’ve seen some cases where they gave multiple chances to soldiers who failed the ACFT. In some cases, an individual wasn’t improving, so they decided to kick him out of the Army.
It depends on how you’re improving and how many chances the leadership in your team is willing to give you before they decide to kick you out of the Army.
Failing ACFT in Basic Training
The Army might recycle you if you are in basic training and fail the ACFT test. But, on the other hand, they might give you several chances and eventually kick you out. So it depends on that leadership as well.
- If you fail the PT test in basic training, they might recycle you back or give you a couple of chances before eventually kicking you out. It just depends on the leadership as well.
That’s what happens if you fail a physical fitness test.