ACFT

Fighting Eagles Cadets Begin 2021 Winter Quarter with ACFT and Leadership Lab

01/11/2021 by jstafford3

It was an auspicious start to the 2021 Winter Quarter with some nice sunrises seen over the campus of Eastern Washington University.

The view over the Communications Building and southern Cheney.

Before Cadets from the EWU Army ROTC “Fighting Eagles” battalion could see any sunrise, they had to get up early to take the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). The ACFT was held under the bright lights shining on the Inferno at Roos Field. It is always a great experience for the Cadets to do physical training on the famous red turf of Eastern’s home football field.

Cadets conduct the hand release pushup event on the Inferno at Roos Field.

The ACFT is supposed to become the test of record for the U.S. Army within the next two years. The ACFT assesses Soldiers on six events:

Deadlift
Power Throw
Hand Release Pushups
Sprint-Drag-Carry
Leg Tuck
2-Mile Run

Unlike the prior Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), the ACFT is both age and gender neutral for scoring. Scoring instead of age and gender will be based on a Soldier’s job. Non-combat MOS’s have the lowest minimum standards while Combat Arms have the highest standards. EWU Army ROTC conducts ACFT testing every quarter to ensure Cadets can continue to assess their progress at improving in each event of this new test.

Leadership Lab

During the weekly leadership lab held each Thursday, the Fighting Eagles Cadets conducted a welcome back lab. During the lab the Cadets conducted icebreaker events to welcome new Cadets into the program. .

Cadet Olivia Roble conducts icebreakers with her squad to welcome new Cadets.

After conducting these icebreakers they then conducted a review or upcoming training events and some initial skills training with the new Cadets.

Cadets conduct initial movement skills training.

After the lab the new Cadets began their process of receiving their initial entry gear from the Cadet Hall supply room. It was great to see a high number of new Cadets at lab and we hope they all have a great experience in ROTC. You can view more pictures from the lab on our EWU Army ROTC Flickr page.

Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!

New Cadet Command Fitness Assessment Implemented for Students Looking to Contract into Army ROTC

12/01/2020 by jstafford3

In October the Army implemented its new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) which made the prior Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) obsolete. Besides being the fitness test of record for many years, the APFT was also used as the fitness test to contract college students into Army ROTC. Recently U.S. Army Cadet Command revised its fitness test requirement to reflect the ending of the APFT. The new fitness test is called the Cadet Command Fitness Assessment (CCFA).

The Pushup — EWU Army ROTC Cadet, Marcos Sanchez conducts the pushup event during an Army Physical Fitness Test.

All new Cadets who wish to contract will now have to pass the CCFA. The events in this new test include 1-minute of pushups, 1-minute of modified situps, and a 1-mile run. Just like the old APFT the standards to pass the assessment are based on gender. The below chart shows the minimum standards to pass the CCFA:

For retention and commissioning the ACFT will be the test of record for contracted Cadets. Cadets will be required to take an ACFT at least once a semester or quarter. Cadets commissioning will need to complete an ACFT at least 120 days before graduation. Currently no administrative action will be taken against Cadets that fail an ACFT, they just need to complete it. Cadets will be allowed to commission as long as they meet all the other appointment criteria outlined in USACC Regulation 145-9 and CC Form 145-5-1 (USACC Appointment Checklist).

If any Cadets have questioned about the new fitness test requirements feel free to leave a comment or contact your Military Science instructor for more information.

EWU ROTC Cadets Execute Their First Army Combat Fitness Test

12/08/2018 by jstafford3

The Army has recently announced that it is moving away from the current Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) that measures the fitness of all Army troops. The APFT consists of three events:

pushups
situps
2-mile run

The APFT is scheduled to be replaced within the next two years by the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT). The ACFT replaces the APFT with six new events:

Deadlift
Power Throw
Hand Release Pushups
Sprint-Drag-Carry
Leg Tuck
2-Mile Run

To prepare for the ACFT, Cadets from the Eastern Washington University (EWU) Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program recently conducted the ACFT in the university’s Fieldhouse.

Deadlift

The first event in the ACFT is the deadlift exercise. For the deadlift the Cadets had to do a three repetition lift of a minimum of 140 pounds.

Power Throw

The second event of the ACFT is the standing power throw. With this event the Cadets had to throw a 10 pound medicine ball as far as they could over their heads. The minimum distance for the power throw is 4.6 meters.

Hand Release Pushups

The third event is the hand release pushup. Unlike the current pushup event in the APFT, the hand release pushup required the Cadets to place their chests on the ground and completely lift their hands off of the ground per every repetition. The minimum requirement for this event is 10 repetitions.

Sprint-Drag-Carry

For this event the Cadets had to sprint 50 meters and then drag a 90 pound tire for 50 meters. They then had to do a 50 meter lateral followed by carrying two 40 pound weights before finishing with a 50 meter sprint. The minimum time to complete the event is 3:35 minutes.

Leg Tuck

The fifth event, the leg tuck, required the Cadets to hang from a pull-up bar and then raise their legs and touch their knees to their elbows. The minimum requirement is 1 leg tuck.

2-Mile Run

The only event in the ACFT that carried over from the APFT is the 2-mile run. Due to the added events in the ACFT, the minimum two mile run time has been decreased to 21 minutes, 7 seconds.

Way Ahead

The Army plans to implement the ACFT within the next two years. Unlike the current APFT, the ACFT will be both age and gender neutral. Instead the test will be scaled by a Soldier’s job. Non-combat MOS’s have the lowest minimum standard while Combat Arms have the highest standards. The grading scale can be seen below:

The new Army Combat Fitness Test is going to be a major cultural change for the US Army in the next two years which the EWU ROTC program is training its Cadets to lead.

Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!