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by Staff Sgt. Monique Randolph
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
***image1***Air Force officials recently announced a change to physical fitness test standards for all Airmen.
The “marginal” category has been eliminated, and the test will now be either pass or fail.
Previously, Airmen who scored below 70 on the fitness test failed, and those who scored between 70 and 74.9 received a marginal rating, while Airmen who scored 75 or above passed. With the change, a score below 75 is considered failing, and Airmen will have to retest within 90 days.
“The change was made to support a defined standard for fitness testing,” said Maj. Dana Whelan, the chief of health promotion operations at Bolling Air Force Base in the District of Columbia. “With the implementation of the new officer and enlisted performance reports, we needed to define a score that qualifies as meeting standards. Furthermore, Airmen who scored in the (marginal) range were not where the Air Force needed them to be (physically), and were still required to attend a healthy living workshop and retake the test to score 75 or above.”
The fitness test change comes just weeks after the implementation of the new performance reports. This interim change became effective Aug. 14.
“I applaud our Airmen who realize the importance of peak physical fitness,” Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley wrote in an Enlisted Perspective article. “However, I realize there are also Airmen who are not living up to their health and fitness potential. With every Airman critical to completion of Air Force air, space and cyberspace missions, we need all Airmen physically capable of performing at the highest level.” For more information, visit www.usafefitness.org.
