The defence force demonstrated its new fitness standards during a troop demonstration in Canberra. Source: AAP
FUTURE Australian soldiers could have to prove their fitness by route marching in full kit and carrying 22-kilogram jerry cans full of water, rather than running and doing push-ups and sit-ups.
The proposed new defence Physical Employment Standards Assessments are the culmination of a long program of research by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation aimed at determining standards of fitness required for a particular job.
Under reforms now under way, women will be able to serve in frontline combat units if they can meet the physical standard.
DSTO scientist Dan Billing, who's headed the research project, said on Monday the current Army Basic Fitness Assessment standard specified a 2.4km run plus push-ups and sit-ups, adjusted according to age and gender.
"They are good tests of physical capacity. But they don't necessarily assess someone's capability to do the job," he said.
Mr Billing said the proposed new basic test, demonstrated at the defence headquarters in Canberra on Monday, gives a better indication of whether a soldier is actually able to perform a range of tasks likely to be encountered in service life.
It starts with a 55 minute, five-kilometre march, wearing protective equipment and carrying weapons. Soldiers must then carry two 22-kilogram jerry cans for 150 metres, which mirrors the effort it takes to carry a casualty on a stretcher.
Soldiers must also demonstrate the basic tactical skill of fire and movement by running six metres, kneeling and lying prone in a firing position and repeating that 12 times.
Finally, there's a requirement to lift a 25kg weight a distance of 1.5 metres - comparable to lifting store onto a truck or moving sandbags in a disaster relief operation.
The basic requirement for an infantry soldier is more stringent and proposed tests for special forces will be tougher still.
Mr Billing said the requirements aren't designed to exclude people.
"We have seen really clear evidence that if people are given the exposure and the necessary conditioning and training, they improve radically and very quickly," he said.
"We have actually implemented the tests at recruit training centres. Both males and females have passed the test at the end of recruit training. These are people who have been in the army for 12 weeks."
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