The Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test: The Need to Replace it with a Combat Fitness Test

Abstract

Abstract : The United States Marine Corps exists to fight and win the nation's battles, and in order to do this Marines must be physically prepared to endure the rigors of combat. As an organization, the Marine Corps takes pride in that purpose, and that single reason is the driving force for nearly everything it does prior to deploying personnel into harm's way. The Marine Corps has directed units deploying to complete pre-deployment training, much of which simulates conditions or tasks that will be experienced or assigned once deployed. The most obvious of these pre-deployment requirements is Mojave Viper in which the scenario-based training nearly replicates many of the tasks a unit will be asked to accomplish, and during which battalions are evaluated on the performance of these tasks. Nevertheless not everything the Marine Corps does in garrison is directed toward preparing it for battle; the current physical fitness test (PFT) falls grossly short of any application to combat. As the current PFT does not adequately evaluate the individual infantryman's level of combat fitness it should be replaced with a combat fitness test.