Preparing for Army OCS
Twelve weeks and three gates. Only one of them is a fitness test, and the one that surprises people is the water.
Twelve weeks, two phases
Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning runs twelve weeks in two phases. The first is the basic-course-like end — standards, drill, the reaction course, constant evaluation. The second is field-heavy and ends in an 18-day field mission, which is the part worth training for specifically.
The three gates
- The Army Fitness Test — all five events, no alternates. Sixty points per event is the pass; arriving at sixty is a bad plan for a course that tests you repeatedly while tired.
- The Combat Water Survival Test — pass/fail, and not a timed swim. Equipment ditching, a blindfolded drop, staying calm in water in uniform.
- Leadership evaluation — the actual point. You are graded in rotating leadership positions, and that is what decides commissioning.
The water survival test removes people who are otherwise perfectly fit, and it removes them for panic rather than for fitness. If you are not comfortable in a pool in uniform, that is a solvable problem and it is far cheaper to solve at a local pool over a few months than at Fort Benning in week three.
What to arrive with
| Event | Workable | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|
| AFT two-mile run | 17:00 | 13:30 |
| Hand-release push-ups, 2 min | 30 | 60 |
| Plank | 2:00 | 3:20 |
| 12-mile ruck | 3:00 | 2:30 |
| 500-yard swim | 14:00 | 10:00 |
Score your AFT before you do anything else — it is the only number here that is actually a requirement, and it tells you whether fitness is your problem.
AFT, the ruck, and the water
Lensatic trains all three: the AFT plan works the five events specifically, Road to 12 Miles builds load carriage for the field phase, and the eight-week swim programme paces off a 500-yard time trial so water confidence is built rather than hoped for.
See the plans AFT calculatorQuestions
How long is Army OCS?
Twelve weeks at Fort Benning, in two phases.
What fitness test do I take?
The Army Fitness Test, all five events, no alternate events.
What is the Combat Water Survival Test?
A pass/fail water confidence assessment — equipment ditching and staying composed in the water in uniform, rather than a timed swim.
What is the hardest part?
Most candidates point at the 18-day field mission at the end of phase two, and at being evaluated continuously while short of sleep.
Is this official?
No. Preparation guidance published by Deadlift Digital LLC, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Army or the Department of Defense.