The new Army Combat Fitness Test will not be used as a graduation requirement for soldiers going through initial enlisted and officer training courses in fiscal 2021.

Army CIMT spokeswoman Megan Reed said the new policy applies to all soldiers in Basic Combat Training, Advanced Individual Training, One Station Unit Training, Warrant Officer Basic Course and the Basic Officer leader Course.

Soldiers are still challenged to train for and pass the ACFT, but “no adverse administrative actions will be taken” against troops who fail it, Reed explained in an email to Army Times.

Additionally, “scores or comments on performance will not be used administratively during the data collection timeframe,” Reed added.

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Dr. Karin A. Orvis released the Annual Suicide Report for calendar year 2019 in a Pentagon press briefing.

The director said the defense department has the responsibility of supporting and protecting those who defend the United States.

“Suicide is a national public health issue affecting people from all walks of life,” she said. “It’s a growing issue that affects all ages.

“The DOD has the responsibility of supporting and protecting those who defend our country,” Orvis said, “and it is imperative that we do everything possible to prevent suicide in our military community.”

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WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army sprint football contest against Navy, which was scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Shea Stadium has been postponed.

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Ryan Crocker is a Diplomat in Residence at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. He served as Dean of the Bush School of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University, until August 2016. He also has had appointments as the James Schlesinger Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia and as the first Kissinger Senior Fellow at Yale University.

He retired from the Foreign Service in April 2009 after a career of more than 37 years but was recalled to active duty by President Obama to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan in 2011. He has served as U.S. Ambassador six times: Afghanistan (2011-12), Iraq (2007-09), Pakistan (2004-07), Syria (1998-2001), Kuwait (1994-97), and Lebanon (1990-93). He has also served as the International Affairs Advisor at the National War College, where he joined the faculty in 2003. From May to August 2003, he was in Baghdad as the first Director of Governance for the Coalition Provisional Authority and was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs from August 2001 to May 2003. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1971, he also has had assignments in Iran, Qatar, Iraq, and Egypt, as well as Washington, DC. He was assigned to the American Embassy in Beirut during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the bombings of the embassy and the Marine barracks in 1983.

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