Ranger School to implement new physical fitness assessment
FORT BENNING, Ga. () — Soldiers looking to become some of the most elite in the U.S. Army will be assessed with new physical benchmarks, starting in late April. The U.S. Army Infantry School announced today that it is replacing the physical fitness assessment to enter the Ranger Course, also referred to as Ranger School.
The new Ranger Physical Fitness Assessment (RPFA) prioritizes functional fitness, aiming to mimic the types of movement Rangers need in the field. Implementation begins on April 21 with class 06-25.
'Push-ups and sit-ups are no longer the Army standard,' U.S. Army Infantry School Commander Brig. Gen. Phil Kiniery said in a release about the new assessment.
Ranger School students will now complete a two-phase RPFA on the first day of the Ranger Course. Both phases must be completed in uniform (OCPs) and boots, a modification from the Expert Infantry Badge Physical Fitness Assessment (EIB PFA), which the new Ranger School assessment also pulls from.
The first phase of the assessment includes seven events, which must be completed in 14 minutes or less in the format below:
800-meter run
30x dead-stop push-ups
100-meter sprint
16x 40-pound sandbag lifts onto a 68-inch platform,
50-meter farmers' carry with two five-gallon Army water cans weighing 40-pounds each
50-meter movement drill consisting of a 25-meter high crawl and 25-meter 3-5 second rush
800-meter run
'The first part of the assessment mimics an operation in that students are moving toward a set of objectives, completing the objectives, and then maneuvering away from the objective,' Kiniery explained.
The second phase begins after Ranger Course students change into weather-appropriate physical fitness uniforms. It includes two parts:
4 mile run in a minimum standard time of 32 minutes
6 chin-ups
U.S. Army officials say the goal of the new two-part assessment is to get a better feel for which candidates are physically prepared for the rigors of Ranger School.
'We don't want to hurt people,' said U.S. Army official Jennifer Gunn, director of public affairs at Fort Benning, where the first phase of the Ranger Course takes place.
Gunn compared the new assessment to a running a marathon. Those who go in untrained risk injury; but those who train, should be prepared to take on the rest of the race, in this case Ranger School.
'This supports functional fitness and echoes the intensity of the events Ranger candidates will complete during the course,' Kiniery said.
When it launches in late April, the new assessment will be in an 'operational tryout' phase. Ranger School cadre could still make adjustments to the minimum time standards, based on their observed effectiveness and ability to reduce risk for ingoing Ranger School students.
The new assessment replaces the previous Ranger Course physical assessment, which required hopefuls to complete at least 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, a five-mile run in under 40 minutes and six chin ups.
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