Overview
- The two assessment cycles run Jan. 1–June 30 and July 1–Dec. 31 under the updated 2026 policy.
- Sailors who fail three PFAs within four years will be processed for administrative separation, and most pre-2026 failures are cleared from promotion and reenlistment calculations.
- Sailors in combat-arms billets will take one Physical Fitness Assessment plus a Combat Fitness Assessment, while others will complete two PFAs each year.
- The Body Composition Assessment now uses a sex-neutral waist-to-height ratio and sex-normalized equations, with a high-performance exemption requiring an outstanding-low overall and at least excellent-medium in each event.
- Reservists on active-duty orders over 12 months follow the two-test cycle, those on shorter orders or drilling must take at least one test per year, and sailors returning from pregnancy receive a 12-month deferment.