Army's Revamped ACFT Would Create 'Gender-Specific' Promotion Evaluation Categories

[Peter1469]

The Army Combat Fitness Test may not be gender neutral in the future- at least in how it is treated for promotions. Of course not- it would have severely limited the military careers of women under the original plan.

Army's Revamped ACFT Would Create 'Gender-Specific' Promotion Evaluation Categories

The U.S. Army is evaluating a new version of its gender-neutral Army Combat Fitness Test, one that would likely create "gender-specific" evaluation categories for men and women when it comes time for promotion.

And get this!

The move would back away from the Army's original plan to have the new six-event test be gender-neutral in all aspects. It's in recognition of data showing that physiological differences between men and women cause individual scores to differ by 100 points on average by gender, according to an Army official familiar with the effort.

No $#@!?! This is not new information except the specific gender differences on this test.

But instead of judging men and women's raw scores against the same rubric, the Army is proposing separate percentile bands for men and women that would be gender-blind when soldiers go before a promotion board.
"We are not going to artificially inflate the raw score for women, but we have to figure out a way to make it fair to both genders," the Army official said. "We need a fair way that accounts for physiological differences."


The proposed solution involves the creation of "gender-specific" percentile bands broken into levels such as Top 1%, Top 10%, Top 25% and Top 50%, according to an Army briefing slide circulating on social media.


To maintain fairness, promotion boards would only see a gender-blind percentile band rating, the Army official said.


"All they are going to see for evaluation is which percentile the soldier falls into," the Army official said. "The gender identity will not be included in that information. If anything, it's a more gender-neutral assessment process because it doesn't show the raw scores."

[Calypso Jones]

There are women that are suited for the military..but there are many MANY that are not. Seems to me and others that you lower the standards overall when you lower the standards for one 'privileged' group.

[carolina73]

It is not reasonable to send troops out onto the battlefield with any person that cannot keep up.

[MMC]

Women serving in Israel’s military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), handle in a variety of positions, ranging from direct combat to operations and logistics roles. Indeed, it’s stated in Israeli Military Service law: “The right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men.” 85% of all combat positions in the IDF are available for women to sign up for. Women are required to serve for 2 years in the military, while men serve for 3.


As a result, women are now 7% of the fighting force of Israel’s military. These dedicated combatants train alongside their male counterparts in the same grueling boot camps and training exercises, especially in mixed-gender groups such as the Haraam artillery battalion. The mixed-gender groups are a welcome change from prior to 2001, when all female conscripts served in a separate group known as the Women’s Corps.


Today, Israeli women soldiers are celebrated all over the world for their sheer badassery – and sometimes, their stunning good looks. An Instagram account, Hot Israeli Army Girls, has accumulated tens of thousands of followers thanks to its cache of over 2000 photos of beautiful soldiers, often with uniform and bikini photos side-by-side.


One former female Israeli soldier has recently captured the hearts of moviegoers all over the world. Gal Gadot, the latest actress to take up the mantle of Wonder Woman, hit it big with her 2017 superhero movie appearance, which was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Gadot served as a trainer in the IDF at the age of 20, spending two years in the military......snip~



This is Why Israeli Women are Some of the Most Badass in the World! (martialtribes.com)



A study of women in the IDF from 2002 to 2005 found that women are often superior in discipline, motivation and marksmanship. Oh and ….Israeli women are stunningly beautiful.


Solve Israel's Problems » Please Share Our Articles » Pictures of Israeli Female Soldiers In and Out of Uniform



Maybe we should do like the Israelis.

[Peter1469]

Women serving in Israel’s military, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), handle in a variety of positions, ranging from direct combat to operations and logistics roles. Indeed, it’s stated in Israeli Military Service law: “The right of women to serve in any role in the IDF is equal to the right of men.” 85% of all combat positions in the IDF are available for women to sign up for. Women are required to serve for 2 years in the military, while men serve for 3.


As a result, women are now 7% of the fighting force of Israel’s military. These dedicated combatants train alongside their male counterparts in the same grueling boot camps and training exercises, especially in mixed-gender groups such as the Haraam artillery battalion. The mixed-gender groups are a welcome change from prior to 2001, when all female conscripts served in a separate group known as the Women’s Corps.


Today, Israeli women soldiers are celebrated all over the world for their sheer badassery – and sometimes, their stunning good looks. An Instagram account, Hot Israeli Army Girls, has accumulated tens of thousands of followers thanks to its cache of over 2000 photos of beautiful soldiers, often with uniform and bikini photos side-by-side.


One former female Israeli soldier has recently captured the hearts of moviegoers all over the world. Gal Gadot, the latest actress to take up the mantle of Wonder Woman, hit it big with her 2017 superhero movie appearance, which was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Gadot served as a trainer in the IDF at the age of 20, spending two years in the military......snip~



This is Why Israeli Women are Some of the Most Badass in the World! (martialtribes.com)



A study of women in the IDF from 2002 to 2005 found that women are often superior in discipline, motivation and marksmanship. Oh and ….Israeli women are stunningly beautiful.


Solve Israel's Problems » Please Share Our Articles » Pictures of Israeli Female Soldiers In and Out of Uniform



Maybe we should do like the Israelis.

From what I understand Israel found that women in the infantry failed. They are allowed in border guard units which do infantry like work, but with vehicles and static positions.

[Peter1469]

Just to clarify the OP- the test will still be gender neutral. They are just creating some formula - based on sex, where your evaluation report won't give your test score, but where you fall in the percentile of your sex. That way for promotion purposes women have a chance at promotion.

[Peter1469]

Update:

House lawmaker grills Army officials on gender bias, including 'lopsided' combat fitness test

I am much more worried about the Army's plans to KTF (kill them first) rather than gender bias.

The chairwoman of a House Appropriations Committee subpanel slammed Army officials at a hearing Monday over what she called insufficient answers to questions on how the service is combating gender bias, specifically with its new combat fitness test.


Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., grilled Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston on why so many women are unable to pass the service’s new combat fitness test.


“The test shouldn't be structured in a way that is unfair and makes it so lopsided that it's impossible for women to really be able to succeed and that definitely will reflect in your recruitment and retention efforts. So it looks like you have a problem and I hope you recognize that,” Wasserman Schultz said during a hearing of the subcommittee on military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies about Army quality-of-life issues and installation updates.


The Army Combat Fitness Test has long been criticized by Congress for its design, which lawmakers say comes at a disadvantage for women who struggle to pass the test. Data revealed in April shows 44% of women failed the ACFT, compared to 7% of men, Wasserman Schultz said.


The Army rolled out the ACFT version 3.0 in March after Congress demanded a halt to testing in January. Lawmakers ordered the service to conduct an independent review of the Crossfit-style exam to ensure the test does not favor men.


The new fixes aimed to alleviate concerns over the low-pass rate for women by including new scoring tiers for male and female soldiers to recognize “physiological differences” between men and women.


Yet, Wasserman Schultz on Monday demanded the Army officials at the hearing — that included Lt. Gen. Jason Evans, deputy chief of staff of the Army, and Jack Surash, acting assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment — examine how the new test was implemented.


To ensure women are capable of passing the test, Grinston said athletic trainers and strength coaches have been added to each brigade and the Army National Guard. He also said a second independent review of the test will determine whether the test disadvantages one group.


“You have to make sure that all our soldiers are fit for combat. So, we are adding those strength trainers to make sure we can give everybody the opportunity to get better in physical fitness. Our goal is not to disadvantage any group in the Army Combat Fitness Test,” he said.

[MMC]

Just to clarify the OP- the test will still be gender neutral. They are just creating some formula - based on sex, where your evaluation report won't give your test score, but where you fall in the percentile of your sex. That way for promotion purposes women have a chance at promotion.

Or better chances at a Promotion.....which is what the Left really wants.

[Peter1469]

Under pressure from Congress:

Army Mulls Returning to Gendered Fitness Standards over Complaints of 'Lopsided' ACFT




The Army is considering adding gender-specific standards to its new Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT, after early data shows nearly half of female soldiers can't pass the test and might face being removed from service once it becomes official next year.
Service officials, including Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, testified before a House Appropriations Committee subpanel Monday that scores may end up being separated by gender to identify the 1st, 10th, 25th and 50th percentile of soldiers.

In practice, this could mean men and women still would have to meet the same standards but would not be compared to one another. Physical fitness scores are heavily considered in promotions, especially in combat-arms jobs such as infantry and cavalry.

Read the rest of the article at the link.

[Cletus]

I have always believed the PT test should be MOS specific. Have a minimum standard that every MOS has to meet, then have MOS specific standards that are geared toward the physical requirements of that particular MOS.

An Infantryman needs to be stronger than a Clerk/Typist, for example.