Preparing for Ranger School
The assessment changed in 2025 and the new one is a carrying test with two 800-metre runs bolted on. Most preparation programmes have not caught up.
The RCFA
In June 2025 the Ranger Combat Fitness Assessment replaced the old Ranger Physical Assessment. The gym events went; a tactical circuit came in. It is the first thing that happens to you and it removes people on day one.
The circuit, in order, against a 12:30 standard:
- 800-metre run
- 6-foot wall climb
- Individual movement techniques — 3 to 5 second rushes between sandbag positions
- Two 40-lb water cans out to a platform and back
- Sixteen 40-lb sandbags onto a platform
- 160-lb weighted sled drag
- A second 800-metre run, on the fatigue the first six events built
Then, separately: a 4-mile run in 32:00 with the 2-mile mark inside 17:00, and six chin-ups from a dead hang.
Repeated heavy carries with a sprint on either end, under a clock. That is a very particular quality — the ability to move a heavy awkward object while your heart rate is already at the ceiling — and it is not what you get from running or from a hypertrophy programme. It is trained by doing it.
RAP week
Ranger Assessment Phase is the front end of the course and where most of the attrition happens. Beyond the RCFA it includes water survival, the Darby Queen obstacle course, land navigation, and a 12-mile foot march — three hours, which at 15:00 per mile is not fast and is not the point. The point is that it arrives on top of everything else, with no sleep behind it.
Run the 12-miler through the pace calculator and you will see it is a modest pace. Almost nobody fails it fresh. People fail it on day five.
The three phases
- Benning — Darby. Squad-level patrols after RAP week. Battle drills, ambushes, recon.
- Mountain — Dahlonega. Mountaineering, then platoon patrols in genuinely unpleasant terrain and weather.
- Florida — Camp Rudder. Waterborne operations and swamp movement, still patrolling, still graded.
You are graded on patrols as a leader. Physical capacity keeps you present; passing is about performing under sleep and calorie deficit, and a large share of people who go home are recycled for patrols rather than removed for fitness.
How to train for it
- Train the circuit. Sandbags, water cans, a sled, a wall. Assemble what you can and run the sequence against a clock. This is the highest-value session available and almost nobody does it.
- The 4-mile at 8:00 pace needs to be comfortable, not a peak effort, because you run it after the circuit.
- Ruck patiently. Twelve miles in three hours is a 15:00 mile. Build to it and beyond so it is trivial rested, because it will not be trivial by then.
- Practise being hungry and tired. Not recklessly — but a long ruck on short sleep once a month teaches you something about yourself that no rested session will.
- Carry things. Sandbags, awkward loads, front carries, farmer’s walks. The course is a carrying course.
Build the ruck and the base under it
Lensatic’s Ranger/RASP prep plan trains the circuit qualities alongside the running, Road to 12 Miles builds the foot march, and rucks are tracked by GPS with per-mile splits and heart-rate zones. Pick Ranger School in the app and your standards board, goals and recommended plans follow it.
See the plans Ruck pace calculatorQuestions
What is the RCFA?
The Ranger Combat Fitness Assessment — a tactical circuit of runs, a wall, rushes, water cans, sandbags and a sled drag against a 12:30 standard, plus a 4-mile run in 32:00 and six chin-ups. It replaced the Ranger Physical Assessment in June 2025.
How long is Ranger School?
About 61 days if you pass every phase first time. Recycling a phase makes it considerably longer.
What is the 12-mile ruck standard?
Three hours, a 15:00 mile. Modest on paper, and taken at the end of RAP week.
Is Ranger School a fitness course?
No. It is a leadership course, graded on patrols. Fitness is what keeps you in it long enough to be graded.
Is this official?
No. This is preparation guidance published by Deadlift Digital LLC, drawn from the Army’s published account of the RCFA. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Army or the Department of Defense.