The Army Combat Field Test (CFT): events, pass line and dates

What the test is

The directive describes the CFT as one continuous event. No single event is timed; the cumulative time to finish all seven, in order, decides pass or fail. The directive also sets the uniform and says no headgear is worn. A soldier who cannot complete an event is stopped, and the test is recorded as a failure.

The seven events, in the order the directive lists them:

The directive says each event must be finished before the next one starts.

The pass line

The directive itself leaves the number open: it says the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, will publish the time standard. The Army’s AFT page, read on October 23, 2026, states it: all seven events completed in 30 minutes or less, graded pass or fail, the same for every age and sex. None of the three pages cited here contains a separate G-3/5/7 publication as of October 23, 2026, so the 30-minute figure is cited to the Army’s AFT page, as read on that date.

That makes the CFT very different from the AFT, which scores five events from 0 to 100 points on tables that depend on age and, for most soldiers, sex. There is no CFT score to compare with an AFT score. The AFT’s own rules, including its combat standard of 350 total points with at least 60 in every event, are in the AFT guide.

Who takes it

Enclosure 2 of the directive lists 24 combat specialties, the same 24 codes the site’s AFT calculator uses for the combat standard:

Enclosure 2 of the directive is the list. The directive says it controls where it conflicts with AR 350-1 and Army Directive 2025-06, and it added 12D, 89D and 89E to the AFT combat standard too, which the AFT guide explains. Where an Army web page differs, this guide follows the directive.

The directive applies to the Regular Army and to the Army National Guard and Army Reserve. Whether a soldier is in a combat specialty is a personnel record question; the unit or the personnel office answers it.

How often, and how the AFT fits in

The CFT is taken in addition to the AFT, not in place of it, and the directive says plainly that it is not a substitute. How many of each depends on the soldier’s status:

The directive adds that nobody has to pass the AFT before or after the CFT. Reserve Component soldiers in the second group may take an extra record AFT inside that 8-month window for promotion or schooling.

Dates: what counts when

The directive sets a one-year transition. The Army’s AFT page puts the dates this way, as read on October 23, 2026:

• Diagnostic testing began April 17, 2026.
• Failed CFT attempts before April 16, 2027 bring no adverse administrative action.
• Testing for record begins April 17, 2027, and a failure from then on leads to administrative action.

The directive words the end of the transition as 365 days from its own date, and 365 days from April 17, 2026 is April 17, 2027, so the two documents agree. Nothing on the Army’s pages read for this guide changes those dates as of October 23, 2026; this guide will be rechecked and the dates updated if the Army changes them.

What the directive says happens after a failure

Once failures count, the directive lays out these steps for soldiers in the listed specialties:

1. The soldier is flagged and enrolled in reconditioning training under unit procedures.
2. The soldier must retake the test within 90 days of the failure, or 180 days for Reserve Component soldiers who are not on Active Guard Reserve orders or active-duty orders of 365 days or more.
3. If the retest is also failed, the unit commander starts reclassification or utilization actions, unless the soldier has a waiver.
4. Enlisted soldiers who fail two consecutive CFTs, or who have a permanent profile that limits the AFT and are denied a waiver, are subject to involuntary separation under AR 635-200, chapter 13 (Regular Army) or AR 135-178, chapter 9 (Reserve Component) if they refuse to extend or reenlist to allow reclassification or are otherwise ineligible to reclassify. Officers who fail two consecutive CFTs, or who have such a profile and are denied a waiver, are subject to elimination under AR 600-8-24, paragraph 4-2(a) (Regular Army) or AR 135-175, paragraph 2-12 (non-active duty officers) if they refuse, or are otherwise ineligible for, an involuntary branch transfer or mandatory assignment utilization.

A worked date example, counting calendar days: if a record CFT were failed on May 3, 2027, counting 90 days forward lands on August 1, 2027, and counting 180 days lands on October 30, 2027. These dates only show the arithmetic of the 90- and 180-day windows; the directive sets only the outer limit, and the unit schedules the retest.

The directive also says soldiers in these specialties who fail to take a record CFT within 12 months of full implementation are flagged, unless a temporary profile prevents it. Evaluation reports with a through date 18 months after the directive’s publication or later must show CFT pass, fail or waiver.

Profiles

Temporary profiles, including pregnancy and postpartum, are followed as written until the soldier can take the CFT, with no test or event modifications. A soldier in a listed specialty whose permanent profile prevents any primary AFT event cannot take the CFT and is evaluated for reclassification. The general court-martial convening authority or the first general officer in the chain of command decides waivers of reclassification and reviews them every year; a denial can be appealed to the next higher commander. During the transition year, no administrative action is taken solely for such a profile. A soldier with a waiver still takes the AFT twice a year (once, for those not on the longer orders).

Next step

If you are in one of the 24 specialties and want to see where your AFT results stand against the combat standard, the Army AFT calculator scores each event from the current tables. For example, a 24-year-old male with a 200 lb deadlift, 30 hand-release push-ups, a 2:00 sprint-drag-carry, a 2:00 plank and a 15:00 2-mile run scores 382 points, which meets the combat standard. The site has no CFT calculator.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Your unit, the personnel office and your chain of command decide how these rules apply to you.