If you want to serve your country, you need to be in peak physical condition. The U.S. Army has stringent rules regarding weight, body fat and health status.
A 5-foot-6-inch woman, for example, must weigh at least 117 pounds but cannot weigh more than 155 to 161 pounds, depending on age. A 5-foot-9-inch man has to weigh at least 128 pounds, but can’t tip the scales at more than 175 to 188 pounds.
Army recruits must take a medical fitness exam to spot health conditions that could cause problems on the battlefield.
The service may reject aspiring soldiers with gastrointestinal ulcers, acute or chronic pancreatitis, hernias, anemia, bleeding disorders and dental problems such as missing teeth
Recruit hopefuls with hearing problems and poor night vision may also miss the cut. Vision must be at least 20/30 to 20/40 in one eye, and 20/70 to 20/100 in the other eye, with or without corrective lenses.
Army recruits have to pass the Basic Training Physical Fitness Test. Two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups and a timed, two-mile run . For men ages 17 to 21, that means performing at least 35 push-ups and 47 sit-ups, as well as running two miles in no more than 16 minutes and 36 seconds.
Graduating requires a fitness test score of 180 points or more, with at least 60 points in each of the three challenges. Women in the same age group have to complete 19 push-ups, 53 sit-ups and two miles of running in 18 minutes and 54 seconds or less.
They have to complete a two-mile run in less than 15 minutes and 12 seconds, as well as a five-mile run in 40 minutes or less.