How HARD Is Air Force Assessment & Selection

If you want to be PJ, Combat Controller, or Special Reconnaissance Airmen, you’ll need to endure four grueling weeks at Air Force Assessment & Selection.

Recently, the Air Force Special Warfare training pipeline has been completely overhauled, and a new enlisted special warfare contract has been created.

As a coach training civilians and military personnel for SOF careers, I’ve seen firsthand how many candidates are now considering or shifting their plans to pursue careers in the Air Force.

But all of these changes to the pipeline and career fields, have left many questioning, just how difficult is this new pipeline and to what extent they should adjust their training.

Air Force Special Warfare Fitness Standards

The previously named Physical Ability and Stamina Test (PAST) has been updated and is now called the Initial Fitness Test (IFT).

You need to pass it to earn a contract, and there’s now one set of minimum standards for PJ, CCT, and Special Reconnaissance candidates

• 8 Pull Ups
• 50 Sit Ups
• 40 Push Ups
• 10:20 1.5 Mile Run
• 2x25m Underwaters
• 15:00 500m Swim

Air Force Special Warfare SWOE-V Contract

With this change to one standard, there was also a change to the contracting system. All civilians seeking an active duty enlistment will sign the same Special Warfare Operator Enlistment-Vectoring contract. 

What that means is you no longer guarantee your career field. Instead, you have a guaranteed shot at Assessment and Selection, but your career path – whether it’s PJ, CCT, or Special Recon will be chosen for you based on your performance, preferences, and the needs of the Air Force.

The only exception to this is that National Guard and Reserve units operate differently and run their own selection processes prior to sending candidates to basic and then Assessment and Selection.

Air Force Indoc Attrition Rates

Prior to the overhaul of the Pipeline, there was a 9-week course for Pararescue candidates called Indoc. There, the attrition rate hovered between 80 and 90%

And the respective selections for Combat Controllers, TACPs, and Special Operations Weather Technicians, who are now called Special Recon, also had very high attrition rates

Throughout these years, you can see a higher percentage of candidates were dropped from the 9-week indoc course than those in 6-months of BUD/S

Air Force Special Warfare Fitness Level

One rebuttal to these high attrition rates is that PJ candidates during these years were slower, weaker, and less fit. But, the data doesn’t show that. The average PJ candidate had a 1.5-mile run time under 9:30, putting them in line or faster than other career fields.

Additionally, this data from the Rand Corporation, shows the top 25% of PJ recruits, notably before the contracting system changed, clocked a 9-minute 1.5-mile run and an impressive 8:11 500m swim.

But even with those, that candidate would only have a 15% chance of getting selected.

For those landing in the top 5% of their class, with an 8:31 run and a 7:12 swim, their odds of getting selected were only 38%.

Air Force Special Warfare Pipeline Changes

But how much has changed since Indoc’s retirement and the creation of the 8-week Air Force Prep Course and the 4-week Assessment and Selection?

Well, a lot has changed.

Rewind to years back when the Air Force found its attrition rates were too high and they weren’t producing operators fast enough

They commissioned the Rand Corporation to do a deep dive into the pipeline and make recommendations on how to improve it. One of the recommendations was to increase the physical preparedness of candidates after basic training since candidates were detrained during those 8 weeks 

Today, the 8-week prep course is immediately following basic, so you’ll rebuild your fitness and prepare for the demands of selection.

At the prep course, candidates are split into groups based on fitness benchmarks, have a regimented schedule, and are taught by elite performance coaches on every aspect of fitness from running, rucking, mobility, water confidence, strength, swimming, and more. 

I’ll have a special note on water confidence at the end – when I talk about overlooked aspects of fitness – since it was found there was a specific gap in candidate readiness.

One other aspect of the prep school you may have seen is photos of ice baths, float tanks, and other technology the Air Force has budgeted to improve their candidate’s recovery and performance.

Air Force A&S Drop Reasons

While we don’t have detailed data on recent attrition rates like we do for BUD/S or SFAS since the pipeline changed, there was some interesting data revealed in the last year.

Specifically, of the 1,337 candidates who attempted A&S since, 2018, 77% were included in this research.

The data showed 49.8% (666) of candidates were selected at A&S on their first attempt. 31% (429) self eliminated, 12% (166) were medically dropped, and 5.7% (76) were removed for performance.

This data indicates a significant increase in the percentage of candidates getting selected. But, it doesn’t mean the pipeline is getting easier. Air Force candidates continue to be very fit.  

And if anything, this data points to the fact that a higher percentage of attrition could be happening in the prep course-since it’s 8 weeks long, and you’ll see the physical performance of even the average Air Force candidate is very high-we’ll get to that in a minute.

First, let’s talk about the age, body composition, and anthropometrics of AFSW candidates.

New Air Force A&S Data (Age, Size, Height)

A&S candidates ranged in age from 18 years old at the youngest to 39 and half at the oldest, with the average candidate being 23 years old.

In terms of stature, candidates were, on average, 5’10 tall and weighed 173 lbs. Their body fat percentage was just under 12% on an Inbody body composition analyzer.

The shortest candidate was  5’2 tall, and the tallest candidate was 6’5. The data collected shows body weights as low as 120lbs and all the way as high as 234lbs.

Unfortunately, we don’t have detailed data to show what correlates with selection success. We just have the mean, minimum, maximum, and standard deviations for these metrics.

But if the data from BUD/S and Special Forces Assessment and Selection are any indication, it would follow that leaner candidates tend to perform better.

How Fit Are Air Force PJ, CCT, and SR Candidates?

What we do have is PJ, CCT, and ST performance on the initial and candidate fitness tests.

On the IFT, the average A&S candidate completed 67 sit-ups and 57 push-ups, swam 500m in 10:13, and ran a 9:36 1.5 mile run, which is about in line with previous years’ performance.

Air Force Candidate and Officer Fitness Tests

One interesting development was the creation of the operator fitness test, which is designed to measure the physical readiness of operators who are currently serving.

This same is administered to candidates and called the Candidate Fitness Test.

The candidate fitness test is competed in full combat uniform and boots and includes a 3-mile ruck with 60lbs, standing long jump, pro agility drills, 3-rep max deadlift, pull ups, farmer carry, shuttle run, and then a 1,500m swim with fins.  

What I find interesting from this data is that candidates perform really well. The average candidate deadlifted 343 lbs for 3 reps and completed 15 pull-ups.

And keep in mind – the candidates were not fresh. The deadlift followed the ruck and agility drills. And the pull-ups were following the deadlift

What’s also noteworthy is that candidates didn’t receive additional points for going beyond 15 pull-ups or 350lbs on the deadlift, which may indicate these numbers are artificially low.  

However, you can see some candidates did go max effort, with the strongest candidates doing 34 pull-ups and 405 for 3 on the deadlift.

If you’re curious what the top quarter or 5% of the class’ numbers were – check this out:

Two Most Overlooked Aspects of A&S Preparation

Now that we’ve gone over historic attrition rates and physical performance. Let’s talk about the two most overlooked aspects of preparation.

Basic Water Skills

At A&S, a major driver of attrition is water confidence. And while you can have a stellar 500-yard freestyle swim, that means nothing if you fail to complete your treads, buddy breathing, or underwaters. This is not just anecdotal, the data shows this as well, while the PAST test did predict who would and would not be selected, once a basic water test was added, including a timed tread, buddy breathing, and underwater, researchers were better able to predict whether a candidate would or would not be selected.

Avoiding Injury

Second is avoiding injury. Nearly half of all candidates who attempted A&S ended up with some type of musculoskeletal injury. When we look at the location of those injuries, they are most common in the legs – indicating some type of shin splint or knee issue

Now, it doesn’t take research to tell you that if you have an injury today and attempt selection tomorrow, that injury is going to resurface if you didn’t do the necessary rehab and strengthening work.

That’s exactly what the research found. Older candidates, slower candidates, and those with a history of injury were most likely to get injured at selection.

So, make sure you’re rehabilitating any injuries and getting back to 100%. Then, slowly increase your training volume over time and exceed the standards to give yourself the best chance of staying healthy.  

Air Force Special Warfare Workout

Of course, I recommend you also do strength training, like this beginner routine, twice weekly.

The full program details are available for free in the newsletter.

After you’ve trained on the beginner routine for a few months, you can move on to the intermediate advanced routine, which has a higher training volume.