Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi, who has served at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, outlined some of the contemplated changes in a recent message on the Microsoft Teams platform.
Tests will be “twice a year for all of us — not as a punishment for our fit airmen … as an acknowledgement that fitness is a readiness issue and it makes a difference if ‘today is the day’," Flosi wrote in a message the Department of the Air Force shared with the Dayton Daily News.
Other changes include scoring body composition via updated height-to-waist ratio charts, and the addition of two-mile run.
“I can confirm that changes are coming,” an Air Force spokesperson told the Dayton Daily News.
The popular “Air Force amn/nco/snco” Facebook page has also posted screenshots outlining changes recently directed by the Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, with an apparent September or October 2025 implementation date.
“The Air Force is finalizing updates to its physical fitness assessment following a comprehensive ten-month review,” an Air Force spokesperson said in response to questions. “These changes support ongoing efforts to revive warrior ethos, in line with Secretary Hegseth’s March 12, 2025, directive on military standards.“
She added: “The Air Force acknowledges that post-COVID changes made in recent years did not effectively prepare airmen to meet the demands of the current and future operational environments and is actively working to reverse that trend. Updates to the program will be formally released once the guidance is finalized.”
The current Air Force fitness test includes push-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run. To pass the test, an airman must achieve a composite point total 75 points or higher and meet minimum point values for all components. An abdominal circumference measurement had been removed from the assessment.
Test results can have implications for careers. At lower ranks, poor test results can delay promotions or even end careers.
While tests today can be done almost anywhere and don’t require special equipment, they can promote “sort of a cramming” for the once-a-year test, Dr. James Christensen, product line lead for the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson, told the Dayton Daily News in 2023.
“You don’t necessarily work out very much for a lot of the year,” he said in 2023. “You can kind of work yourself into shape quickly if needed. Then in the month or two before the test, ‘OK, it’s time to go out and run again. I have pass my test.’”
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