Breakdown: Hitting the new 350-point combat standard for 2026 without destroying your lower back on the MDL.

freetoolforge.org/tools/calculators/us-army-acft-calculator

1. With the shift to the new baseline standards this year, a lot of soldiers are stressing about the 350-point total requirement for combat specialties. You still only need a minimum of 60 per event to pass, but the math changes if you need that 350 total. You essentially need to average 58.3 points across the board. The mistake I keep seeing at the company level is guys trying to overcompensate on the 3-Rep Max Deadlift (MDL) and risking an injury. Look at the scoring curve: it is exponentially easier to squeeze an extra 10 points out of the Sprint-Drag-Carry (SDC) by just cleaning up your sled turn transitions than it is to add another 20lbs to your hex bar. Same goes for the Plank. Locking in an extra 20 seconds on your plank gets you further up the chart than smoking yourself on the run. Work smarter, not harder. Maximize the events where form yields free time/reps, and coast on the 60-point minimum for the ones that wreck your joints.(Edit: Since people are asking how to calculate exactly how many seconds/pounds they need to hit the 350 mark across different events, I put together a [freetoolforge.org/tools/calculators/us-army-acft-calculator]. It lets you slide the numbers to see where you can make up the easiest points).