Airmen enrolled in enlisted professional military education will stay in the course, regardless of whether they have passed the school’s internal fitness test starting in January, a change from current practice.
The Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education, which created and provides the program, notified students in a Dec. 12 internal memorandum initially circulated on the unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco.
An Air Force official confirmed the memo by email to Military Times on Monday.
“Effective 1 January 2026, students that fail a physical readiness assessment will no longer be released from a course,” the memo says.
All service members selected for EPME at the Barnes Center must arrive with a current and passing official physical fitness assessment from their home unit, the Air Force official told Military Times.
The service members are required to complete a course-conducted, diagnostic physical assessment while in attendance, according to the official.
If the service member fails this assessment, no opportunity for retest will be offered, the official said.
“This is an established Barnes Center policy, and all attendees are formally notified of this requirement prior to their arrival,” the official said.
The memo also says if a student does not pass, a redline report — a formal notification that a student has failed the assessment — will be issued.
The fitness assessment will continue to be completed within the first five academic days, according to the memo, and no other changes will be instituted at this time.
The statement says the change will remain in effect until further notice and will be included in the Barnes Center’s next EPME Handbook update.
The update comes after changes to the Air Force’s physical fitness assessment within its Culture of Fitness initiative, with the new assessments also beginning in January.
Cristina Stassis is an editorial fellow for Defense News and Military Times, where she covers stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She is currently studying journalism and mass communication and international affairs at the George Washington University.
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