San Diego --
In 2008, General James
T. Conway, 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps, instituted the combat fitness test
as a test to measure a Marine’s fitness levels under conditions that are
related to the physical rigors of combat and to also sustain wartime readiness.
With graduation in
sight, Delta Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, fought through fatigue
and adversity to complete their final CFT at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San
Diego, March 10.
“When I went through recruit training, the CFT
was not a part of training,” said Staff Sgt. Jaime Lazos, drill instructor. “I
wish it had been because it exemplifies aspects of being an all-around Marine.”
While the CFT is a training
requirement for recruits, they will continue to conduct the test because it is
an annual training requirement for all Marines.
The first event of the CFT began with recruits running the
880-yard timed run. Wearing combat boots makes the sprint around the track
difficult for some recruits. The purpose of the run is to simulate moving
quickly through a combat situation. In order to attain maximum points on this
event, recruits must complete the run in 2 minutes and 45 seconds or less.
The second event was the ammunition can lifts. Each can
weighed 30 pounds and was used to conduct overhead presses. Each recruit
performed as many presses as he could in two minutes, attempting to reach 91
repetitions to achieve a perfect score.
The final event of the CFT was the maneuver-under-fire. The
course for this portion covers 75 yards and requires recruits to perform
exercises such as sprints, ammunition can carries, fireman’s carry and throwing
a simulated grenade at a marked target. Recruits were timed as they ran through
the course and needed to finish it in less than 2 minutes and 14 seconds for
maximum points.
Prior to conducting the event,
recruits of Delta Company trained on a daily basis to increase their stamina as
well as upper body strength.
“Every day we have our recruits do
some sort of physical activity,” said Lazos. “Everything from incentive
training to doing ammunition can lifts before they use the head, or the various
physical training sessions we take part in throughout the training cycle, gets
the recruits’ bodies used to the stress and makes them stronger.”
In Phase II of training, recruits
took their initial CFT. They had each event explained to them thoroughly then
watched as their drill instructors demonstrated each requirement.
Using what they learned and the
strength they built throughout training, Delta Company’s final scores were
added to their basic training records and will carry over for one year. The
next time these recruits take a CFT it will be in the Fleet Marine Force or at
their military occupational specialty schools.
“Recruit training is the first time
recruits experience anything like this event,” said Lazos. “If they take it
seriously and put 100 percent effort into it, then they will set themselves up
for success after the graduate.”