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U.S. Army Combat Field Test · 7 events · 30-minute standard

Are you readyfor the new CFT?

The U.S. Army's new Combat Field Test, scored. Enter your total time — or simulate event by event — and see whether you'd meet the 30-minute combat-MOS standard.

The Combat Field Test (CFT) is a U.S. Army physical readiness assessment for soldiers in designated close-combat military occupational specialties — infantry, armor, field artillery, combat engineers, Special Forces, divers, and explosive ordnance disposal techs, among others. Its purpose is to validate that combat-arms soldiers can sustain the physical demands of modern combat under load.

The CFT is not a replacement for the Army Fitness Test (AFT). Combat-MOS soldiers on active-duty orders for 365 days or more are required to pass both the AFT and the CFT annually. Reserve-component combat-MOS soldiers alternate between the two tests each calendar year.

Unlike the AFT — which uses age-normed, sex-normed scoring on a 0-to-500 graded scale — the CFT is graded as a single continuous timed event. There is no points table. There are no per-event scores. The standard is binary: complete the entire seven-event sequence in 30 minutes or less in the Army Combat Uniform with combat boots, and you pass. The standard is age-neutral and sex-neutral. The same time applies to every soldier in a combat MOS.

The CFT is adapted from the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment (EPFA), which has been used since 2023 for the Expert Soldier Badge, Expert Infantry Badge (EIB), and Expert Field Medical Badge. The EIB cutoff time is 26:30, tighter than the CFT's 30:00. Per Army-supplied data, soldiers attempting the EIB pass the EPFA at the 26:30 standard about 81% of the time — meaning the CFT at 30:00 is intended to be achievable by most fit combat-arms soldiers, not an extreme test.

Use this scorer for: self-assessing readiness, pacing your training, gauging where you stand against the Army standard.

Do NOT use this scorer for: a substitute for an authorized administration. Only an Army-designated administrator can record an official CFT result; a self-administered run in PT shorts and sneakers will not match the test as actually scored. The CFT is administered in ACUs, combat boots, and a brown T-shirt — equipment that materially adds to the time. Treat your self-assessed time here as a training estimate, not a record.

spec.archetype: pass_fail_threshold + tiered_thresholds
spec.population: pop_us_army_combat_mos · sex-neutral · age-neutral
spec.scoring: total elapsed time, seconds
spec.threshold.pass: ≤ 1800s (30:00)
spec.threshold.eib: ≤ 1590s (26:30) · informational tier from EPFA EIB standard
authoritative source: army.mil/aft (Combat Field Test section)
Your total CFT time
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Total elapsed time for the entire 7-event sequence.
or simulate by event
CFT Simulation
Pace it event by event
Enter realistic per-event times to see how your pacing compounds into a total CFT time. Tap the ? next to any event for pacing reference. Transitions are auto-estimated based on your event pace; tap to override.
Simulated
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1
Opening 1-mile run
Steady pace — sets the rhythm for events 2–7.
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Pacing reference. ~9:30 = tight pass · ~7:30 = EIB pace. The opening mile is one of the two largest variables in total CFT time (the other is the closing mile). Going out too fast is a common error — soldiers consistently report struggling on the loaded carry events when the opening mile was paced aggressively.
2
30 dead-stop push-ups
Fixed quantity — clock runs until 30 are completed.
:
Pacing reference. Most fit combat soldiers complete 30 dead-stop push-ups in 1:00 to 1:30. Dead-stop reps (chest, hips, thighs touch ground every rep, no momentum bounce) are slower than standard military push-ups. Pace breaks down badly under fatigue if the opening mile was too fast.
3
100-meter sprint
Short anaerobic burst.
:
Pacing reference. A fit combat soldier sprints 100 meters in roughly 14–22 seconds in PT shorts. Add 2–4 seconds for ACU and combat boots. The sprint is rarely the limiting event — but it can feel disproportionately hard right after the push-ups if you're not used to back-to-back transitions.
4
16 sandbag lifts (40 lb → 65" platform)
Repeated overhead loading. Grip and posterior chain.
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Pacing reference. 16 lifts at ~5–7 seconds per rep is 1:20 to 1:50. Technique matters — the most efficient soldiers use a hip-drive clean motion rather than a slow grind. The 65-inch platform target means the sandbag travels nearly the full height of an average-stature soldier on every rep, so this event is more demanding than a deadlift on the same load.
5
50-meter water can carry (2×40 lb)
80-lb total loaded carry.
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Pacing reference. 25–40 seconds for the 50m carry is typical. Grip is usually the limiting factor — train sustained loaded carries (60–90 seconds with 2×40-lb / 80-lb total) so the test feels short by comparison. Picking up and setting down the water cans counts as part of this event, so don't sprint to the start line and then fumble the grip.
6
50-meter movement drill
25m high crawl + 25m 3-to-5 second rush.
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Pacing reference. 40–60 seconds total. The 25m high crawl is slower than soldiers expect — practice it. The 3-to-5 second rush is doctrinal IMT (get up, sprint a few meters, get down to prone), not a continuous run. Doing it correctly is faster than improvising.
7
Closing 1-mile run
The hardest event — under cumulative fatigue.
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Pacing reference. Expect the closing mile to be 60–120 seconds slower than your opening mile because of cumulative fatigue from events 4 and 5. ~11:00 = tight pass · ~8:30 = EIB pace. Most CFT failures happen here — soldiers run out of time on the closing mile after pacing the front of the test poorly.
+
Transitions / setup auto-estimated
Time between events — getting up from prone, picking up cans, walking to the next station.
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About this estimate. Transitions are computed from your entered event times: roughly 18% of total event time, with a floor of 3:30 and a cap of 5:00. This reflects the observation that aggressive soldiers transition faster than slow ones, but transitions never collapse to zero or expand without bound. Tap the field to override with your own measured transition time. The CFT itself does not separate transitions from events — total time is what's measured.
The simulation is a planning tool — the official CFT measurement is total elapsed time. Per-event time references shown here are derived from arithmetic on the published test structure and from observed combat-arms athletic performance, not from Army-published per-event standards. The Army does not publish per-event time targets; total time below 30:00 is the only official outcome.
Your time
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awaiting input
Awaiting input
Enter your CFT time above.
The Combat Field Test pass standard is 30:00. Times faster than 26:30 also meet the Expert Infantry Badge cutoff.
Bands
≤ 26:30
EIB-qualifying
Meets the Expert Infantry Badge time standard. About 81% of EIB candidates clear this; demonstrates well-conditioned combat-arms readiness.
26:31 – 30:00
Pass
Meets the official CFT combat-MOS standard. Solid combat-readiness baseline.
> 30:00
Fail
Below the CFT pass threshold. After the diagnostic implementation period ends, failure may result in administrative action, reconditioning training, or reclassification.
The seven events · in order, continuous 7 EVENTS · ≤30:00
1
1-Mile Run · opening run
Steady opening pace; sets the rhythm for the remaining six events.
Run one mile on a measured, generally flat surface. The CFT is administered on improved surfaces (track, road, sidewalk) — not unimproved terrain. Times for the two 1-mile runs are by far the largest variable in the total CFT time, so opening pace strategy matters. The opening mile sets up the rest of the test, which is muscularly demanding; soldiers who go out too fast often struggle in the sandbag and water-can events. surface: improved (track, road, sidewalk) · uniform: ACU + combat boots + brown T-shirt
2
30 Dead-Stop Push-Ups
A fixed quantity, not a max-rep test. The clock keeps running until 30 are completed.
Complete 30 dead-stop push-ups. From the down position, the chest, hips, and thighs touch the ground. The Soldier returns to the front-leaning rest by extending the arms. Each rep starts from a full dead stop on the ground — no momentum-bounce reps. This is a fixed quantity (not max-reps): the CFT requires exactly 30, and the clock continues until all 30 are completed. equipment: level surface · format: fixed-quantity (30 reps)
3
100-Meter Sprint
Short anaerobic burst — not the limiting factor, but tests transition recovery.
Sprint 100 meters. The sprint serves as a transition between the muscular endurance work (push-ups) and the heavy load events (sandbag, water cans). It tests whether a soldier can re-enter sprint pace after upper-body fatigue. equipment: 100m measured course · format: maximum-effort sprint
4
16 Sandbag Lifts · 40 lb to 65" platform
Repeated overhead loading. Tests grip, posterior chain, and shoulder endurance.
Lift a 40-pound sandbag onto a 65-inch platform 16 times. The sandbag is lifted from the ground to the platform (approximately shoulder height for an average-stature soldier). Tests grip, posterior chain, hip extension, and shoulder endurance. Equipment: 40-lb sandbag + 65" platform. load: 40 lb sandbag · target: 65" platform · reps: 16
5
50-Meter Water Can Carry · 2 × 40 lb
Loaded carry — 80 lb total in two five-gallon Army water cans.
Carry two 40-pound, five-gallon Army water cans 50 meters (one in each hand, total load 80 lb). Tests grip endurance, core stability, and gait under load — the most directly combat-relevant event in the sequence (carrying ammunition, supplies, or casualty equipment between fighting positions). load: 2 × 40 lb water cans (80 lb total) · distance: 50 m
6
50-Meter Movement Drill · high crawl + rush
25m high crawl into a 25m 3-to-5 second rush. Combat fundamentals.
Conduct a 50-meter movement drill consisting of a 25-meter high crawl followed by a 25-meter 3-to-5 second rush. The high crawl simulates moving through cover or beneath suppressive fire; the 3-to-5 second rush is a doctrinal individual movement technique — short, sharp moves between covered positions. distance: 50 m total (25 m crawl + 25 m rush)
7
1-Mile Run · closing run
The hardest event — a mile under the cumulative fatigue of the previous six.
Run one mile to close the test. The closing mile is dramatically harder than the opening mile because of cumulative fatigue from the loaded carries, sandbag lifts, and movement drill. Soldiers who passed the test in the diagnostic phase consistently report the second mile as the deciding event — pace it accordingly. Total distance run on the CFT is two miles plus the 100-meter sprint. surface: improved (track, road, sidewalk) · uniform: ACU + combat boots + brown T-shirt
Where the time goes
The CFT is graded on total time — there are no per-event time standards published by the Army. But because the structure is fixed, the rough proportions are predictable. The two 1-mile runs dominate the budget: together they typically account for 14 to 20 minutes of the 30-minute total. The five strength and movement events between them — push-ups, sprint, sandbag lifts, water can carry, and the high crawl plus rush — usually take 4 to 6 minutes combined. Transitions between events (resetting from prone, picking up kettlebells, re-gripping sandbags) consistently eat more time than soldiers expect.
A practical way to think about it: if your two 1-mile runs total 16:00 in ACUs and combat boots, you have roughly 14 minutes left for everything else — and that is a comfortable budget. If they total 22:00, the remaining 8 minutes for the strength and movement events plus transitions is achievable but unforgiving. Train the run pace in the test uniform and footwear; that single variable moves the total time more than any other.
These are descriptive observations about how time distributes across the test, not Army-published per-event standards. The CFT is graded on total time only. Use this for training calibration, not as official guidance.
Companion test · on scoremyaft.com
U.S. Army Fitness Test (AFT)
Combat-MOS soldiers on active-duty orders are required to pass both the AFT and the CFT annually. Score your AFT performance separately on a 0–500 scale across 5 events.
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Built on FITDAT

This scorer implements scoreset_us_army_cft — a U.S. Army-published Score Set on the FITDAT v1.0 Data Specification. The CFT exercises the pass_fail_threshold archetype with a single test selection (test_us_army_cft), the tiered_thresholds modifier (CFT pass at 30:00 and EIB-qualifying at 26:30), and the pop_us_army_combat_mos Population (sex-neutral, age-neutral). ScoreMyCFT.com is the dedicated home for this Score Set; the broader test directory lives at scoremyfitness.com, which also hosts the companion AFT scorer that combat-MOS soldiers must pass alongside the CFT.

About the data. Test sequence, equipment, and 30-minute pass standard are taken directly from the U.S. Army's official Combat Field Test publication and the army.mil/aft Combat Field Test section. The 26:30 EIB-qualifying tier is documented as the EPFA Expert Infantry Badge time standard, which the CFT is adapted from.