Air Force rolls out age- and sex-neutral fitness test for EOD techs
Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD, technicians will take a new gender- and age-neutral fitness test starting next month, the service has announced, with a medicine ball toss, a powerlift and a dynamic drill with 80-lbs of weight known as the Gruseter.
To qualify for their jobs, EOD troops undergo one of the most rigorous training pipelines in the Air Force, but have long been held only to Air Force-wide physical fitness standards, which are less difficult and account for gender. The new, more difficult Explosive Ordnance Disposal Occupationally Specific Physical Fitness Assessment, or EOD OSPFA, will demand the same passing scores for men and women.
“The assessment was developed using performance data from both EOD and non-EOD airmen,” Falls told Task & Purpose in an email. “The four exercises comprising the EOD OSPFA directly correlate to these (Physical Training SSSS) and an individual’s ability to perform them. All EOD Airmen, regardless of sex and age, will be assessed using the same standards.”
All enlisted airmen and officers in the EOD career field will take the new annual test that involves four events instead of the standard Air Force Physical Fitness Test. The Air Force has been working on the new fitness test for EOD techs since 2015.
