I think there is some confusion regarding the (soon to be released) updated Air Force fitness standards, specifically the acclimatization period, indicated by the unprofessional eye roll I exhibited when someone said they were instructed to provide feedback once the standards are released. Might be a little late for feedback. It sounded as if the person thought the acclimatization period was for the new standards to acclimate to them. No, no. The acclimatization period is for you to adapt to the standard.
One must understand fitness waits for no one. And if you don’t get onboard now, you will be left behind. The fact that each military member has between 6-12 months to “acclimate” is extremely generous. Upon a high level policy discussion, I shared how I had completed a 5k obstacle run at 16-weeks postpartum. Please don’t tell me you didn’t have enough time to get yourself in shape for these new standards. Please don’t give me your excuses. Might it have been lofty, dare I say stupid, to attempt this endeavor? Sure. But I did it. Because I knew I would be returning to the uniform sooner rather than later. And fitness waits for no one.
Now – I strive to share fair albeit biased information on RoF. So I’ve put together a sampling of other country’s (enemy and ally) fitness standards. If the US desires to compete as a global power, then we must get a handle on the expanding medical challenges we face, starting with obesity and rapidly growing waistlines. For brevity, I am only researching Air Force standards, not Army or Navy.
Allies
Royal Air Force (RAF) – Candidates must pass a Pre-Joining Fitness Test, which consists of a 2.4km (1.5 mile) run on a treadmill (set to zero incline), and as many press-ups and sit ups as possible in 1 minute. For the male/female pass standards, check out RAF. The same testing methods apply to current RAF members.
Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JSDF), or Japanese Air Force – 20 meter shuttle run, standing long jump, grip strength, sit-ups, and the sit and reach. The initial test is shared on the Japanese SDF page, but it was difficult to determine if this was only for the Army or all branches.
South Korea – an initial “fitness for duty” conscription test is administered to everyone at age 19. This test consists of grip strength, back strength (push ups), sit and reach, standing long-jump, sit-ups, and a 3km shuttle run. The annual requirement includes a 3km run, 2-minutes of push-ups, and 2-minutes of sit-ups. I wasn’t able to locate the pass/fail standards after a cursory search.
German Air Force – annually, members conduct an 11×10 meter shuttle sprint, a flexed-arm hang to measure endurance, and a 1000-meter run. For further explanation of the requirements, click here.
French Air & Space Force – annual requirements include the “beep test”, or shuttle run, of 2400 meters, pull ups, push ups, a 25 meter swim (or other variation), and, possibly, rope climbing. This article from 2010 is the closest I could find for the testing standards.
Enemies
Russian Air Force – scores are categorized for members over and under 30 years of age – a 3km run (cardiovascular), a 100m sprint (speed), pull-ups (upper body strength), and 10×10 meter shuttle runs (agility). Connell, Lennox, and Schwartz (2023) wrote Training in the Russian Armed Forces: An
Assessment of Recent Reforms and their Impact on Russian Operations in Ukraine, an interesting look into the Russian military.
North Korea – the secretiveness of the military regime prevented full research data; however, it is known members adhere to a test which include 30-minutes of power walking, gymnastics without apparatus, and 5-minutes of stretching/squats. Interestingly, military members must initially pass the following checks: at least 148cm (4 ft 9 in) in height and a weight of at least 43kg (94.79 lbs). As malnutrition is a widespread problem in the country, the heigh and weight requirements have adjusted throughout history. Specific information regarding the fitness scores and standards is not publicly available.
People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), or China – testing includes a 2.4 km run, 2 mins of push-ups, 2 mins of sit-ups. Allen and Allen (2018) discuss PLAAF unit testing, as well as Cozad and Wenger (2025) who indicate the challenges facing China’s ability to recruit members based on malnutrition disqualification and one-child families. Access to the fitness standards was difficult to obtain.
Conclusion
Although I had hoped this post would go a different direction using concrete evidence and publicly available data, I still believe the US is on par with other country’s military fitness requirements. The shuttle run is a popular technique amongst allied and enemy countries, as well as the standard push up and sit up. Again, some of the information I found could be slanted towards Army/Navy; however, I put more effort into finding Air Force-specific standards.
So what does this all mean? In truth, I don’t really know. I think most countries agree on the standard fitness tests and mostly agree on the methods to test. Interestingly, I did not purposefully seek data regarding height/weight measurements, which is a tested element in the US and several other countries, despite only North Korea outright sharing the requirement. As malnutrition, corruption, and lack of sustainable food growth is a serious problem in other countries, they have the opposite issue of the US – their people do not eat enough and their growth is stunted. In the US, although food insecurity and a percentage of the population without adequate nutrition exists, we either don’t widely share that data or it is insignificant when researching the military. Perhaps a post for another day.
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I ask you –
Did any of the information above surprise you?
(The post Still Talking About Standards first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)
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