Combat PT Manual
During my tenure as a U.S. Army H2F Strength & Conditioning Coach (circa 2023), I began noticing a distinct pattern in the top-down requirements for physical training assessments. Beyond the standard Army Combat Fitness Test, the Army was experimenting with “Warrior Skills Lanes”—task-oriented, metabolic-conditioning assessments that mirrored the structure of the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment (EPFA).
The demand signal from the Corps down to the Brigades was clear: commanders wanted multi-event, timed, go/no-go assessments to evaluate actual combat readiness. I began documenting these patterns to build a methodology for what I saw coming. That thought experiment eventually became the first Combat PT Manual.
The Demand Signal Validated: The Combat Field Test (CFT)
In 2026, my theories were validated with the announcement of the Combat Field Test (CFT). By rolling out a ‘slick’ version of the EPFA with a 30-minute time standard for all combat MOSs, the Department of War solidified its focus on operational physical readiness.
Astute readers will notice this is not called a “Combat Fitness Test.” It is a Combat Field Test. Although official sources claim “The CFT does not replace the Army Fitness Test” and that Combat MOS Soldiers “will be required to pass one of each test annually” as a “mission-based standard,” (it’s literally just the EPFA recycled), I suspect the name and minimal equipment requirements signal its true purpose: it is an assessment ideal for austere conditions. It is field-ready, relies on standard-issue gear, features simple go/no-go criteria, and serves as an excellent bioenergetic management assessment. It provides a way to evaluate physical readiness while deployed, removing the logistical burden of the AFT.
The Science: Expressing Qualities vs. Building Qualities
To understand where Combat PT fits into a unit's rhythm, we must separate training a quality from expressing a quality.
The AFT assesses isolated biomechanical and bioenergetic capacities: strength (Max Deadlift), strength-endurance (Hand-Release Push-Up), core endurance (Plank), anaerobic capacity (Sprint-Drag-Carry), and aerobic capacity (2-Mile Run). The tired argument of “we don’t do this in combat” misses the point. The AFT provides an objective snapshot of a Soldier’s chassis. An H2F Strength & Conditioning Coach can review an AFT scorecard, identify weak links, and program accordingly. This is General Physical Preparation (GPP)—building the qualities.
The CFT, on the other hand, evaluates operational work capacity. It pre-fatigues the body and demands real-time performance and recovery management under load and subject to the elements. Executing a 1-mile run, dead-stop push-ups, a 100m sprint, heavy sandbag lifts, water can carries, tactical bounding, and another 1-mile run back-to-back does not evaluate qualities in isolation. It assesses a Soldier's ability to perform and recover under strict time constraints.
Combat is messy. We build qualities in isolation (assessed by the AFT), and we must eventually bring them together to see how the total human weapon system performs under stress (as assessed by the CFT).
The Trap: Testing is Not Training
Here is the catch: Just as we saw with the ACFT/AFT and the EPFA, well-meaning units will set up the CFT every other Thursday for “Combat PT” and run their Soldiers through the gauntlet.
This is a mistake.
Testing a capacity is not the same as conditioning it. If units attempt to prepare for the CFT simply by running the assessment every week, they will break their Soldiers. You cannot build a better chassis by constantly redlining the engine.
While skeptics dismissed the Army's shifting focus with a blanket “Combat PT is dumb” statement, I asked a different question: If Combat PT is here to stay, how can we make it better? For the last two years, I have refined protocols to build operational work capacity without destroying the Soldier. Combat PT must be progressive. It must incorporate task-specific Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills, Military Occupational Specialties, and the unit’s collective METL. This is Specific Physical Preparation (SPP).
Let’s be honest. Unless you are an 11 series (or Combat MOS), your unit likely does not regularly conduct Combat-based field exercises. For those whose MOS or mission sets differ, Combat PT is an opportunity for Soldiers to get in their gear, navigate the environment, tolerate the elements, and conduct team-based activities outside a controlled gym. In fact, I really appreciate how Role 2 MCAS units were approaching Combat PT (shout-out to Darkhorse: To Hell and Back!). There was a strong emphasis on 68W skills, and I was challenged to include demands for the other specialties.
The Legacy Draft
Consequently, early versions of this manual began circulating within the 68W and 68C networks, generating overwhelmingly positive feedback and sparking battalion-level discussions on safely scaling these protocols. Because those early links are still live in various forums, I am hosting the original document below.
Disclaimer: The draft available for download below is an outdated artifact. It primarily consists of the very "smoke-show" sessions I now actively seek to avoid. However, it holds value in illustrating the initial pattern I saw across the branches, and it serves as the foundational hunch that sparked a much larger evolution. The next iteration of the manual will include a Combat PT session akin to what is presented here, but the task demands and progressive nature of physical training will be far more prominent and appropriate.
The Vision: The Upcoming Combat PT Manual
I am currently working with a small team of professionals to develop a comprehensive, updated manual. The evolution of this text represents a deliberate shift from random fatigue generation and static Combat PT sessions to the systematic development of combat-ready lethality based on mission requirements.
Here is the architectural vision for the upcoming manual (subject to change):
Warfighter-centric Manual Architecture
Warfighter-facing Education: Accessible, operationally relevant physical readiness principles stripped of unnecessary exercise-science jargon.
System Design (“How-To” ): Step-by-step guidance for NCOs and leaders to develop, program, and scale their own unit-specific Combat PT systems.
Field Implementation: Field-ready guidelines for executing training under real-world logistical constraints and motor-pool realities.
H2F Integration: Strategies for effectively resourcing, communicating with, and utilizing your Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) team to multiply the formation's capabilities.
Combat Conditioning Framework
Task Conditioning: Developing physical proficiency tailored directly to Warrior Tasks & Battle Drills (WTBDs), Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), and Mission-Essential Task Lists (METL) under load.
Metabolic Conditioning: Training the three primary energy systems through an operational lens: Phosphagen (“Sprint”), Oxidative (“Sustain”), and Glycolytic (“Surge”).
Bioenergetic Management: Teaching Warfighters the tactical skill of regulating energy output between bouts of performance and recovery. This optimizes continuous performance under load and deliberately delays the Soldier's operational burn rate.
Advanced Operational Applications
Progressive Pre-Fatigue (“Embrace the Suck” Programming): Utilizing structured fatigue strategically to train technical and tactical proficiency under physical duress, shifting the focus from aimless thrashing to purposeful resilience.
Cognitive Performance: Integrating evidence-based cognitive stressors into physical training to ensure decision-making, problem-solving, and situational awareness are maintained when heart rates elevate.
Environmental Factors: Preparing the physical chassis and energy systems to operate efficiently across austere climates, extreme temperatures, and shifting terrain.
Integrated Subject-Matter Expertise
Interdisciplinary Insights: Featuring contributions from specialized professionals across the human performance spectrum. This section reinforces how disciplines such as sleep science, performance nutrition, and mental resilience directly integrate with physical readiness and battlefield lethality.
