24.1 USAF Fitness (AFH-1 Section 22A)

PFE source versus owner policy

The Promotion Fitness Examination draws knowledge items solely from Air Force Handbook 1, Airman, 15 February 2025. Section 22A, USAF Fitness, is Airman Development and Testing Chart level B for both Staff Sergeant and Technical Sergeant — the published row is BBCCC, so senior NCOs are C-coded here. That is the tested source. It is not the last word on the program you run. DAFMAN 36-2905, Department of the Air Force Physical Fitness Program, 24 March 2026, is the owner publication for the Physical Fitness Readiness Assessment. AFH 1 still describes a 1.5-mile run, a 60/20/20 composite, and a 12-month excellent retest. The 2026 manual replaced those figures. Answer a 22A knowledge item from the handbook. Run your unit's next cycle from DAFMAN 36-2905 and the PFRA Due Date Matrix on MyFSS.

Culture of Fitness and the program goal

AFI 1-1 requires USAF members to be physically fit to support the mission. AFH 1 states the Physical Fitness Program goal: motivate all Airmen to participate in a year-round physical conditioning program that emphasizes total fitness, including proper aerobic conditioning, muscular fitness training, and healthy eating. An active lifestyle increases productivity, optimizes health, and decreases absenteeism, which helps maintain a higher level of readiness.

The Department of the Air Force Culture of Fitness initiative is the current command wrapper around that same goal. Official pages at af.mil/Fitness confirm that new Physical Fitness Assessment standards took effect on 1 July 2026 and that the program is built as a year-round habit, not a test-week project. For the PFE, memorize AFH 1's three total-fitness elements. For the job, treat Culture of Fitness as the reason scores now appear on performance briefs and why passing Airmen test on a six-month cycle.

Flexibility is the trap. Airmen skip stretching because it is not on the scorecard. AFH 1 still teaches a five-to-seven-minute dynamic warm-up, stretch holds of 10 to 30 seconds repeated three to four times when muscles are warmer, and a cool-down that prevents blood pooling. Ballistic (bouncing) stretching is not recommended.

Who runs the program

DAFMAN 36-2905 applies to the Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and United States Space Force. AFH 1 names the roles an NCO holds or supports.

The installation or base commander (ANG wing commander) oversees the program, provides an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle, renders the final decision on appointing certified Physical Training Leaders and Unit Fitness Program Managers to augment the Fitness Assessment Cell, renders the decision on run, walk, and HAMR courses after collaborating with Civil Engineering, Force Support, and Wing Safety, and appoints a noncommissioned officer or senior noncommissioned officer of any AFSC as Fitness Information Manager.

Commands and units establish and enforce a unit program, ensure administrative action for non-compliance, determine whether assessments are conducted with a Unit Fitness Assessment Cell or the installation FAC, and appoint FAC augmentees in writing.

The Unit Fitness Program Manager is the commander's unit agent and the liaison among the commander, FAC, and Fitness Program Manager. The UFPM reviews and approves scheduling, validates the Fitness Screening Questionnaire and AF Form 469 status, refers members with high-risk FSQ responses to a provider, notifies the commander of Airmen who fail to show for Fitness Improvement Program appointments, initiates and maintains secured case files, and provides monthly fitness metrics and a unit status report.

The FAC Manager, centralized under the Force Support Squadron and augmented by installation PTLs, oversees installation FACs, conducts assessments, and inputs scores in myFitness. A FAC augmentee is an additional duty not tied to any AFSC. Augmentees supervise Airmen at a ratio of no more than 12 Airmen for every one augmentee, document and sign results on a hard-copy DAF Form 4446 — locally produced scorecards cannot be used — and obtain the Airman's signature.

Physical Training Leaders lead unit physical training and administer assessments after completing hands-on Basic Life Support or equivalent, CPR/AED, and fitness assessment procedures training. They cannot administer assessments or lead unit fitness until all three are complete. They will maintain a fitness assessment score of 75.0 or higher. If the score drops below 75.0 or becomes noncurrent, the certification is voided. Reinstatement requires a passing score and re-accomplishment of the necessary training.

The Airman maintains year-round fitness through self-directed and unit programs while maintaining proper nutrition; notifies the UFPM, designated FAC representative, or chain of command in writing (including e-mail) of the need to schedule; monitors exemptions; completes the FSQ; and notifies the UFPM upon receiving an AF Form 469 with fitness restrictions. ARC Airmen must be in a qualified duty status. For safety, Airmen must comply with AFI 44-102 regarding weight-control drugs and surgery.

Body Composition Program and scored WHtR

Effective January 2023, in accordance with DoDI 1308.03, the Air Force implemented the Body Composition Program, replacing the abdominal circumference measurement removed from the fitness assessment in December 2020. AFH 1 describes an annual Body Composition Assessment in the member's birth month using Waist-to-Height Ratio: waist circumference divided by height. Members may opt to accomplish the BCA one calendar month before the birth month. The BCP is commander-driven. Units identify at least one male and one female Body Composition Manager, with no grade requirement. Managers assess only members of the same sex as reflected in the Military Personnel Data System, use a non-stretch tape measure in inches, and enter results in myBodyComp.

Worked example. A 72-inch Airman with a 36-inch waist has a WHtR of 0.50 — meeting standard. The same Airman with a 40-inch waist has a WHtR of 0.556 — not meeting standard. The ratio is waist divided by height, never the reverse, and it is not the old abdominal-circumference tape test.

First identification above 0.55: enroll in a 12-month informal self-directed Body Composition Improvement Program, schedule a medical evaluation (ARC: records review with the Reserve or Guard medical unit), review the Health and Readiness Optimization (HeRO) Body Composition Guide, and submit an improvement action plan to the BCM and commander. Informal enrollment is not a failure, and commanders will not take administrative actions during it. Still not meeting standard afterward: enroll in the formal self-directed BCIP — that enrollment is the first failure. Reassess during the next birth month or 12 months from the last BCA. Repeated failures with no medical condition that precludes meeting the standard: commanders consider administrative actions including separation. Re-enroll in the formal program if identified as failing after subsequently meeting the standard. Processing uses DAF Form 108 until DAF Form 113 is published.

DAFMAN 36-2905 integrates WHtR into the PFRA as a 20-point scored component with no component minimum. Official AFPC PFRA Scoring Charts effective 1 March 2026 award 20.0 points for a WHtR of 0.49 or lower, then one point less per 0.01 increase through 0.54 (15.0 points), for every age and sex group. Remaining WHtR bands are on that published chart — do not invent them. Airmen identified with a WHtR greater than 0.55 and an unsatisfactory PFRA complete a Body Fat Assessment using a secondary method and enter a body composition remedial program. If the member meets BFA standards, body composition is scored as exempt. If the member does not, the PFRA is unsatisfactory.

That pairing — handbook BCP plus scored PFRA WHtR — is what a 2026 NCO has to carry. The PFE still tests Section 22A as written. The track tests DAFMAN 36-2905.