{"id":12051,"date":"2018-02-07T18:42:04","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T18:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/02\/07\/passing-combat-endurance-test-is-no-longer-required-for-infantry-officers\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:16:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:16:25","slug":"passing-combat-endurance-test-is-no-longer-required-for-infantry-officers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/02\/07\/passing-combat-endurance-test-is-no-longer-required-for-infantry-officers\/","title":{"rendered":"Passing Combat Endurance Test is no longer required for infantry officers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a slight change to the grueling initial stage of the 13-week Infantry Officer Course<\/a>, Marines will no longer be required to pass the Combat Endurance Test<\/a> to move on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corps has come under criticism for what some have claimed to be unnecessarily high standards to graduate from the course. To date, only one unnamed female Marine has successfully completed the entire course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Marine officials at Training Command contend the changes are not an effort to water down standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver the past 40 years, the Marine Corps has made multiple modifications to Infantry Officer Course (IOC) program of instruction (POI) to reflect the requirements of the operating environment,\u201d Training Command said in a statement to Marine Corps Times. \u201cThe quality of the course remains the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Combat Endurance Test is an intense physical test that assesses a Marine\u2019s endurance and knowledge gained from The Basic School<\/a>, and is used as a tool to evaluate a Marine\u2019s potential success in the infantry course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously it was scored as a simple pass or fail, but now the test will no longer be used to weed Marines out. The officers will continue to take a Combat Evaluation Test, but their score will be just one of many components of the course considered for a student\u2019s overall evaluation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changes were made in November to better reflect requirements of Marine infantry officers as outlined in the Infantry Training and Readiness Manual and actual operating force requirements, according to officials at Training Command. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a result, the Combat Endurance Test (CET) reverted back to its original intent, prior to 2012, as an assessment tool to measure the retention of knowledge, skills and fitness achieved at the Basic Officer Course (BOC).\u201d Training Command said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students from the Infantry Officer Course (IOC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., completed a “Proof-of-Concept” 1,100 mile, long-range operation from Twentynine Palms, Calif., to Fort Hood, Texas, via MV-22 Ospreys, on Dec. 15, 2013. The Marines fast-roped into a mock city to secure the embassy and rescue key U.S. personnel. The Marine Corps is the only military branch with the proven capability to missions of this magnitude, whether for humanitarian, rescue, combat operations or other special-forces type missions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The CET has changed several times; it wasn\u2019t until recently that Marines could washout from failing the course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course has not always been a direct indicator of success in the infantry course. In 2014, three female Marines passed the CET, only to be dropped two weeks later in the infantry course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three women were dropped after failing to keep up on long marches with what the Marines call an approach-march load, which the Corps defines as \u201cthe load necessary for the prosecution of combat operations for extended periods with access to daily resupply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Corps also says the changes were not a result of high attrition rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe average attrition rate for the CET between 2012 and 2017 was less than three percent,\u201d Training Command said. \u201cThe majority of the attrition in Infantry Officer Course is associated with a student\u2019s overall performance on tactical movements and leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The largest spike in attrition from the test occurred in 2015 \u2015 with roughly 6 percent, or 22 Marines washing out of the infantry course for failure to pass the Combat Endurance Test. In 2017, less than 1 percent \u2015 roughly four Marines \u2015 failed the test. <\/p>\n\n\n\t