APFT integration window after PCS?

You should always be ready for APFT. The urban legends of having a certain ammount of time once you PCS are just that. Urban Legends and/or unit courtesy.

SGT Dinwiddie

I am going to start by answering you question directly. There is no Army standard for Soldiers PCSing to a new unit to be given and time to prepare for the APFT. As a few have stated already your orders say to show up ready to take the APFT. The reg you want to check is AR 350-1 it states the following in reference to what you asked.


350-1
Physical readiness testing gives Soldiers an incentive to stay in good physical condition and allows commanders a
means of assessing the physical readiness levels of their units. Accordingly, all AA and RC Soldiers must be able to
pass the APFT at any time, except upon return from deployment. Following redeployment, Soldiers will be administered a record APFT no earlier than three months for AA and 6 months for RC Soldiers.

(2) Commanders may administer the APFT as often as they wish; however, they must specify beforehand when the
results are for record. AA and AGR Soldiers will take the APFT twice each calendar year. A minimum of 4 months
will separate record tests. Soldiers that require make-up testing or re-testing for an APFT failure are exempt from the
4-month rule.

Now I am a Master Fitness Trainer and use to work as a Company training NCO. The only thing I know of that even suggests a “train up period” is the following from FM 7-22. It only pertains to new Soldiers straight out of IET. It is also worded to make it more of a suggestion to the commander not an order. My last unit gave all Soldiers 90 days before a record APFT. But that was the commanders call; he didn’t have to.


FM 7-22
4-27. The new Soldier’s threshold level of physical performance may fall below the minimum for his gaining
unit. He may be considered a borderline APFT performer or be borderline overweight. He may be fresh out of
BCT, AIT, or OSUT, or may have just completed a permanent change of station move or returned from an
extended deployment. These Soldiers are facing new conditions relating to physical performance
(acclimatization to altitude, temperature, and humidity), which may take them up to four weeks to adapt.
Although Soldiers leave IMT prepared to transition to the sustaining phase, they may de-train due to leave,
transit, and in-processing at their new duty assignments just like Soldiers in operational units. New Soldiers
need to train in the unit for 90 days before PRT leaders or AIs assess the Soldiers' fitness levels. This timeframe
allows them to acclimatize, assimilate into a unit PRT program, and adapt physiologically and psychologically.

They way I look at it, we're NCOs. We should not have to be told that it is our responsibility to maintain our physical fitness and body composition. Fitness is a part of the job and our culture. It's a basic Soldier responsibility.

That being said, I agree with SGT(P) Robida's statement of local unit policy. We generally give our new Soldiers a 90-day window before requiring them to take an APFT, unless it's a unit-wide event (in which case they take a diagnostic). AR 350-1 requires one twice per year. If you're looking for more information on the actual requirement for taking the fitness test, AR 350-1 is a better place to start than FM 7-22. I covers unit and individual requirements.