The US Navy has introduced new sets of fitness evaluations for sailors in combat arms roles, including SEALs, Special Warfare Combat Crewmen, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, and fleet divers, marking a shift in how the service measures physical readiness.
The new standards require combat arms personnel to complete a two-event exercise annually, which consists of the Navy Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) and the Combat Fitness Assessment (CFA).
PFA encompasses the standard Body Composition Assessment and the standard Navy Physical Readiness Test, while the CFA covers Body Composition Assessment and the new Combat Fitness Test.
Reserve personnel on active-duty orders of 12 months are mandated to take both PFA and CFA screenings annually, while other reservists will complete one of those per year.
Combat Fitness Test
The latest Combat Fitness Test, introduced in December 2025, is a specialized procedure that should be completed in a single session.
This relay includes a timed 800-meter (2,625-feet) swim, followed by weighted push-ups, weighted pull-ups, and a 1-mile (2-kilometer) run, all performed wearing a 20-pound (9-kilogram) vest or carrier.
Scores are age-adjusted but sex-neutral, reflecting a September 2025 directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling for uniform combat fitness standards across the force.
Under this new set, SEALs and Special Warfare Combat Crewmen will face stricter scoring metrics than counter-explosives technicians and fleet divers, though all will complete the same events.
The Combat Fitness Test system labels 45 points as “passing,” with 100 points as “outstanding.”
An initial 1-year rollout period will allow the US Navy to evaluate benchmarks of the overall PFA-CFA strategy before formally recording scores.
