Combat Fitness Test

 

Combat Fitness Study participants, join the Signal group HERE

CONSIDERATIONS

• Active Duty test is below
• Having a standard offers members a goal to aim for, while offering leadership a baseline upon which to gauge a unit's capabilities
• Randomized exercise programs, such as Crossfit, are simply that - EXERCISING, and therefore can neither be used for training nor as a demonstration of an individual's physical capabilities
• Strength and Endurance are the key components
• Despite looking cool, 2 minutes of pushups and situps (aerobic) offer nothing in terms of demonstration of battlefield capability or performance
• There are no variations for age or sex 

The Minuteman Combat Fitness Test

STRENGTH (1ST EVENT)

1. Barbell Squat: 1RM | 1.2x Body Weight

2. Bench Press: 1RM | Body Weight

3. Deadlift: 1RM | 1.5x Body Weight

4. 5 Strict-Form Pull-Ups

ENDURANCE 

1. 1-Mile Run:  < 9 Minutes*

2. 6-Mile Ruck:  < 1 Hour & 50 Minutes**

*Run is performed in PT clothes

**Ruck is performed in full patrol kit with weapon and pack, minimum 15% / Body Weight. Route should have no more than 300 ft total elevation gain

Active Duty Test

STRENGTH 

1. Barbell Squat: 1RM | 1.5x Body Weight

2. Bench Press: 1RM | 1.2x Body Weight

3. Deadlift: 1RM | 2x Body Weight

4. 8 Strict-Form Pull-Ups

ENDURANCE 

1. 1-Mile Run:  < 7.5 Minutes*

2. 6-Mile Ruck:  < 1.5 Hours**

*Run is performed in PT clothes

**Ruck is performed in full patrol kit with weapon and pack, minimum 20% / Body Weight. Route should have no more than 500 ft total elevation gain

EXPLANATIONS

    Strength, as measured by total force generation (weight moved), is the foundation of all human activity. Without doing any other form of training, improving one's strength leads to an exceptional improvement in everything we do. This is especially true for men in a combat role. Carrying a 40-50 lb. kit, over varying terrain, for hours or days, is extremely demanding on the body. Patrolling in kit, as an example, is however a sub-maximal load. That means if an individual becomes stronger over time, all sub-maximal loads become even more so, meaning that those activities become easier to perform. By training for strength, we improve our efficiency in every activity we conduct. Also, an often over-looked benefit to improving one's strength is overall resilience: to the weather and variations, against sickness, as well as during times of extreme mental stress. This is why men must be strong, and we must test their strength. Be advised, however, that these numbers are minimum standards, and individuals should always strive to exceed them. Why squats, deadlift, and bench press? Why not the kettlebell or bodyweight exercises that the "functional fitness" gurus promote? The answer is fairly simple:

• These normal movement patterns can be progressively loaded over a long period of time. Neither KBs nor bodyweight exercises meet this criterion
• These exercises are the most objective displays of strength

    Cardio-vascular endurance, or "cardio," is also a critical during combat operations. Combined with strength, an individual with excellent endurance performs better in the field. Despite how Hollywood and video games portray combat operations, we should view this activity as a sport that's similar to baseball: a very long, mostly aerobic event, with inter-dispersed, short bursts of aerobic performance. One must be able to "go the distance," as well as perform an action, such as a 3-5 second rush or flanking maneuver, very quickly. Units must also be able to perform these actions repeatedly, over a long period of time. 

LEARN HOW TO TRAIN HERE

REFERENCES

Mark Rippetoe & Starting Strength

Infantry Small Unit Mountain Operations

US Army Battle Focused Training (FM 7-1)

Physiology of Sport & Exercise, Kenney

Basics of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

This is straight from the Joint Publication (JP) 3-31, Joint Land Operations: 

"The Army SOP is designed to standardize the way units operate, ensuring that tasks are performed consistently and efficiently. It is a critical component of the Army’s operational planning and execution process, as it provides a clear understanding of the procedures and protocols that must be followed in various situations." 

SOPs can be at any level, for any group, or any specific task. An SOP can also be different between different units for accomplishing the same task. Basically, imagine if you are 60 years old, and are writing a book about kicking ass in life. At some point you have figured out a few tasks that can be solved by using a simple problem solving approach. Your SOP might include planning stages, equipment requirements, what you are doing while out performing the job or activity, and maybe even a follow-up at the end. Your SOP might simply include basic procedures on how to navigate from point to another in your vehicle. Then, you'll make a separate SOP on that same trip but while on foot. Pretty simple, right? So what is the point of an SOP? 

While we may think everything we know and do are just "common sense," it may not be common sense to everyone you are leading or working with. But, the fact remains, you know the correct or most efficient way to accomplish a task, and you need your team to be able to do it your way. So what if you are sick or injured, or just not around? Can you trust your team to perform the task, by your standards, without you being there? Most likely not. You can, however, enable them to pull out the SOP for said task, and follow those instructions. As leaders, we cannot expect our team to know everything that we know, or to perform everything exactly like we can. However, we can teach them as much as possible and then, when you are not around and they become ignorant, the SOP will become their default. Lastly, SOPs can be used as assisting people through basic tasks during times of extreme stress. This is where unit training and battle drills come in to play. 

We build our tactics and battle drill SOPs by evaluating our unit capabilities, combined with analyzing the operational considerations of our environment (METT-TC). What is our job, and what are we capable of accomplishing? So first, we develop our SOPs. Next, we must test those SOPs. This is where training and sometimes, real-world testing comes into play. Hopefully we are testing our SOPs in training before the real-world does it for us, because that can suck. 

In summary, we should establish SOPs for basic tasks that we can expect our team to be able to accomplish. Can we conduct a reconnaissance patrol? If so, how do we actually do it? It could come down to a simple word document with task, conditions, and standards, or just a word doc with a step by step instruction. Many unit SOPs for radio communications and first aid applications will be step by step. However, when we are talking about battlefield tactics, the SOP will become lengthier and more complicated. The bottom line is that we have to build the SOPs in the first place, and then test them to improve them.

A few examples of necessary SOPs:

1. TOC setup, organization, and duties

2. Small Unit Tactics: Patrolling, OPs, Reconnaissance, Battle Drills, etc

3. Unit training and planning

4. Communications and Radio Etiquette

5. Team structure and equipment (MTOE)