# Navy grants fitness amnesty to 48,000 sailors who failed test **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088 "2017-12-22T23:27:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/1 "2017-12-22T23:27:58Z")
The idiot who wrote the article didn’t tell the readers what the minimum scores are to pass the test. I gather its, push ups, sit ups and a 1.5 mile run. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/2 "2017-12-22T23:32:58Z")
[Navy grants fitness amnesty to 48,000 sailors who failed test](https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2017/12/21/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48000-sailors-who-failed-test/) > [@](#): > > The Navy’s Physical Fitness Assessment, or PFA, is a two-part process consisting of a Body Composition Assessment and a Physical Readiness Test. The test grades sailors,\*\* based on their age,\*\* on push-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run. > > Other major changes will include making sailors take a body fat test immediately after reporting to a new command and also making sailors who fail the fitness test ineligible for advancement or frocking. That’s a lot of standards to print. Since the article is written for Navy personnel, I would imagine they can look it up themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/3 "2017-12-22T23:42:28Z")
The standards are likely age-dependent too. They are in the Marines. Lots of standards to print, male and female. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/4 "2017-12-22T23:47:24Z")
Shockingly they’re available online: [https://www.navy.com/navy-life/life-as-a-sailor/fitness.html#physical-training](https://www.navy.com/navy-life/life-as-a-sailor/fitness.html#physical-training) [http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/21st\_Century\_Sailor/physical/Documents/Guide%205-%20Physical%20Readiness%20Test%20%202016.pdf](http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/support/21st_Century_Sailor/physical/Documents/Guide%205-%20Physical%20Readiness%20Test%20%202016.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/5 "2017-12-22T23:49:11Z")
Just give us an example or two, not the whole chart Male ( Female) 25 yo X amount of push ups, X amount of sit ups and a maximum time in the 1.5 mile run to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/6 "2017-12-22T23:59:50Z")
Looks like they’ve gotten more serious about it since my tenure. It was a bit of a joke back then. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/7 "2017-12-23T00:06:47Z")
Didn’t want to slog through those online resources, did you? I sauntered on over there, expecting to be able to find the simple answer, and it is surprisingly vague. That’s probably why the reporter didn’t give specifics. It appears that the pushups and sit-ups are “do as many as you can in two minutes” and then you are graded against your peers with your score on all three parts. The actual pass/fail bit depends on your percentile–it’s not clear if that’s within the group that is competing or across the Navy, so I’ll assume the latter. Failure is “Performance in lowest 10 percentile” So, that sounds like they have built-in a 10-percent failure rate. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/8 "2017-12-23T00:18:13Z")
> [@](#): > > ineligible for advancement or frocking. Well damn, that’s something I learned today. I’ve long known what defrocking was, and what a priests frock is, but never managed to come across the root verb of the opposite, positive meaning. Obvious in hindsight, but new to me. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/9 "2017-12-23T00:28:39Z")
Standards go down when recruitment is down. It’s nothing new. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/10 "2017-12-23T00:36:59Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Failure is “Performance in lowest 10 percentile” > So, that sounds like they have built-in a 10-percent failure rate. Which is a real bad way of doing it, if you actually want everyone to be in good shape. But it’s likely that it results in fewer failures than if they had some fixed standard, so that’s a win from some standpoint. ---
**Author:** ![Rutherford\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Rutherford\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rutherford_B)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/11 "2017-12-23T00:38:32Z")
They sure weren’t strict about physical fitness during the Vietnam era. But, when you can’t reach your enlistment goals and resort to drafting, it makes a difference. However, the Marines also resorted to drafting and I doubt they were lax on physical fitness. ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/12 "2017-12-23T05:34:26Z")
So, the Navy fitness test is twice a year. It more or less commences as such: [ol] [li]Body Composition Assessment (BCA) where they measure your percentage of body fat, percentage is based on sex and age. If your percentage is too high when they measure by height/weight/age and caliper, they’ll then use a tape measure to be more accurate. This is simply a PASS/FAIL scenario which is required for the next step.[/li][li]Sit-ups/Curl-ups, performance based on sex and age. Depending on how you perform will give one up to an outstanding.[/li][li]Run/swim/alternate cardio (bike), performance criteria based on sex and age. Depending on how you perform will give one up to an outstanding.[/li][/ol] Although your score is cumulative, you must PASS each. I.e. if you pass the BCA, can run a 2 minute mile, but can’t do a push-up you fail. If you fail it will affect advancement (unless you’re an officer) and then you’ll have “mando” where you get to show up at 5AM and exercise. Normally, you get to and should exercise during the day as it’s a requirement to be fit and ready. Certain branches are serious if not “way more serious” about this. Now, about the article. Those members that were about to be discharged, didn’t just fail one, they probably failed three or more. Also, the conditions for failure may have been BCA, as in they were a little chubby, but could pass the rest if tested. It’s hard to say exactly without looking at some of the results for those who were granted amnesty. In the Navy, it’s really hard to fail more than one in a row, unless you are chubby. And, when I mean chubby, I mean chubby. If you are a male in the 17-21 age group you need to be at or below 22% body fat but you have up to 24% (due to measuring methods). That’s chubby. These are not “spartan” requirements. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-grants-fitness-amnesty-to-48-000-sailors-who-failed-test/805088/13 "2017-12-23T06:28:27Z")
That’s pretty sad actually when I was in the Army we did a 2 mile run, I think the marines might be a 3 mile run. You had to score a 60 in each event, giving a cumulative score of 180 to pass, of course it’s dependent on age and sex. I was always a fatty growing up and I never had a problem passing the pt test. I was by no means a pt stud but meeting the minimum is not hard, though I did destroy the push-ups I always scored above 100, the extended scale. I saw a lot of guys that were overweight and could pass the pt test but failed weight and tape and because of regulations on appearance still got chaptered out. The commander definitely has a lot of leeway though whether to pursue a chapter, and depending how proficient the soldier was at his job and how many other people of that particular MOS were available might decide to hold off on kicking them out. It’s really just a reflection of our societal poor dietary and fitness habits in this nation and the direction it’s gone, so many young people are now overweight and out of shape. The greater needs of the military at any given time and whether they are downsizing or expanding largely determine their attitude about getting rid of people though, it’s definitely a double standard.