Recent data from the Ministry of Defence highlights the performance of soldiers in the Role Fitness Test (RFT), revealing consistently high pass rates among both ground close combat (GCC) and non-ground close combat (NON-GCC) troops since the test’s introduction.
Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, posed a question to the Secretary of State for Defence regarding the number and proportion of soldiers passing, failing, or having other outcomes in the Role Fitness Test each year since its inception. McDonagh specifically inquired about the breakdown between GCC and NON-GCC troops.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Andrew Murrison, provided a detailed response, presenting data from the Army’s Personnel Policy Directorate as of May 17, 2024.
Murrison’s response outlined the annual performance of Regular and Reserve soldiers in the Role Fitness Test:
2021:
- GCC: 469 failed, 15,479 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- NON-GCC: 615 failed, 14,617 passed, 4% failure rate, 96% pass rate
- Total tested: 31,180
2022:
- GCC: 458 failed, 17,381 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- NON-GCC: 1,050 failed, 32,223 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- Total tested: 51,112
2023:
- GCC: 503 failed, 18,617 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- NON-GCC: 1,129 failed, 35,712 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- Total tested: 55,961
2024:
- GCC: 229 failed, 8,378 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- NON-GCC: 440 failed, 15,250 passed, 3% failure rate, 97% pass rate
- Total tested: 24,297
Murrison noted that the data, sourced from a live system, could be subject to change and might include data quality issues affecting accuracy. The figures are single service estimates based on management information rather than official statistics produced by Defence Statistics.
The Role Fitness Test (RFT) commenced for Regular Non-GCC troops in September 2021 and for Reserve Non-GCC troops in April 2022, explaining the lower test numbers in these categories for the initial year.