WASHINGTON — Following the lukewarm success of the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), the Defense Department has concluded that only one path is clear: adoption of the test across the U.S. military.

The ACFT includes six events designed to fairly gauge physical fitness for all soldiers, yet since kick-off in September 2020, the test has generated a mix of success and confusion not seen in the Army since the introduction of rifled muskets.

Pentagon official Thomas Berger, however, called the ACFT a more physically demanding test that reflects the Army’s high standards, despite only about 70 percent of males and 16 percent of female soldiers being able to pass.

“Those numbers would be an abject failure in any efficient organization,” said Berger. “But in the Army, that’s a big fat win.”