Paratroopers train to ace the ACFT

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

10.02.2019

Story by Sgt. Cody Parsons 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Early in the morning, October 2nd, 2019, Paratroopers of the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, warmed up in preparation for the Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. For many of the Paratroopers here, this was their first time taking the new test.

Within the 82nd Brigade Support Battalion, connecting fitness with combat readiness helps improve the unit as a whole. Combat readiness is especially important to the Paratroopers here, with the majority of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, or “Panther Brigade”, deployed in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

The ACFT measures a Soldier’s strength and endurance with six events: three-repetition maximum deadlift, standing power throw, hand-release push-ups, leg tuck, sprint-drag-carry, and a two-mile run.

“For me the most difficult part was the sprint-drag-carry,” said Staff Sgt. Bryan Tramell. “The AFCT is a full body workout that tests your left and right limits. It’s definitely a challenge compared to the APFT.”

The ACFT will be the Army’s required fitness test for all Soldiers by October 1st, 2020. The current three event APFT remains the test of record, during the transition period.

For the trainers here at the Panther Brigade, the ACFT provides a better evaluative tool for fitness, but also a logistical challenge, explained Staff Sgt. Jason Conley. Between equipment and man-power, it takes a lot longer to set up than the APFT, which had little to no requirements. For this Paratrooper however, it’s all worth it.

“I think it’s going to change the Army 100 percent,” said Conley. “It’s going to open a lot of people’s eyes to their fitness level. The ACFT testing six different events should be a max of 70 minutes. A lot of people that go to the gym will excel at certain portions of the ACFT, but if you’re truly combat ready we need you to be able to lift a load, sprint and have endurance.”

The age and gender-neutral ACFT will prepare all Soldiers for the occupational demands of combat, something every Paratrooper here knows could soon be their reality.

Later this year, units throughout the 82nd Airborne Division will be issued, "Gyms in a Box." These vital fitness equipment sets will enhance Paratrooper’s overall physical training plans, and help improve their ACFT performance.

• Date Taken: 10.02.2019
• Date Posted: 10.02.2019 15:58
• Story ID: 345506
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US