Preparing for the ACFT one cup at a time

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Story by 1st Lt. Connor Coombes
2d Cavalry Regimen

As Soldiers across the U.S. Army have begun incorporating exercises into their physical training to prepare themselves for the upcoming implementation of the Army Combat Fitness Test, 2d Cavalry Regiment’s Support Squadron hosted a competition based on the test’s events.

The Regimental Support Squadron hosts a physically rigorous Commander’s Cup competition every quarter, and for this iteration, its leadership decided to build the rivalry around five of the six ACFT events, plus a sprint race in lieu of the test’s two mile run portion.  The Commander’s Cup took place during PT hours at Rose Barracks, Germany, May 31, 2019.

Each of the five troops provided one team to compete in the competition. The teams each began at a different station and rotated until all five ACFT events were complete.  The troops then selected a representative to compete in the mystery event, a 100-meter uphill sprint race.

Multiple competitors received a maximum score in their respective events under the ACFT standards.  Nevertheless, Soldiers have continued to express the sentiment that achieving a maximum score in all events will be difficult. 

“You have to know where you’re at and pace yourself, even if you can achieve the maximum score on a given event,” said Sgt. Bryan McCoy, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, RSS, 2CR, who lifted the maximum three-repetition weight in the deadlift event.  “If you don’t, with all of the events in such a quick succession, it’s very easy to burn yourself out.”

Graders for the events then totaled the points accrued by each of the troops.  Alpha Troop, RSS, 2CR was announced as the winner of the Commander’s Cup.  Charlie Troop, the previous holder of the Commander’s Cup, came in second.

“Overall, it was a really great event and I think our Soldiers had a lot of fun” said Sgt. 1st Class Lucas Wig, Charlie Troop, RSS, 2CR, who served as the non-commissioned officer in charge of the competition. “Squadron leadership was striving for maximum participation for this event in order to get us ready for a very different physical test from the one we’ve been taking for so long.”

RSS leadership continues to integrate ACFT-focused exercises into PT in order to ease the transition for its Soldiers from the current Army Physical Fitness Test.

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