Early numbers show the Armys new fitness test is reducing injuries in basic training

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2017/10/18/early-numbers-show-the-armys-new-fitness-test-is-reducing-injuries-in-basic-training-3/

Early numbers show the Army’s new fitness test is reducing injuries in basic training

By: Meghann Myers    4 days ago

In the 10 months since the Army implemented an occupational fitness test for potential recruits, injury and drop-out rates are down at basic training, officials said. The Occupational Physical Assessment Test has four events, and a soldier’s score determines which jobs he or she is qualified for. The idea behind it is that if soldiers are tested and categorized based on their Army-related physical abilities before basic training, they are less at risk of getting hurt once they’ve enlisted.
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Those reductions in injuries translate into more soldiers who not only make it through basic, but who make it through on their first try, saving the time and money it takes to rehabilitate and recycle them. According to Army statistics, since the beginning of this year, injuries in basic combat training have dropped by 17 percent, while injuries in one station unit training — a combination of basic and advanced individual training done by infantry, armor, military police and other specialties — saw a 10 percent drop. On-time graduation rates are also up, statistics found. In basic training. they jumped from about 85 percent to about 93 percent, and at OSUT from 78 percent to 87 percent.

Not only does OPAT weed out potential recruits and officer candidates who aren’t up to occupational physical standards, it also can redirect prospective soldiers who don’t meet the bar for their dream MOS but could still have a career in another field.
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As of the end of September, according to statistics from U.S. Army Recruiting Command, 68,425 recruits passed the OPAT at the necessary level and shipped to training. Another 84 had to renegotiate their contracts to accommodate a lower OPAT bar, and 14 decided to cancel their contracts altogether after failing to meet their desired MOS standard.

Despite rigid scoring requirements, the OPAT is not a one-time-only test. “They can take the OPAT each month leading up to shipping, but no matter what, they must have a passing score on record within a 90-day window of shipping to show they are ready,” USAREC spokeswoman Kelli Bland told Army Times. With that rule, 72 percent of potential soldiers met their desired OPAT standard on the first try, while 92 percent passed within their first three attempts.
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