How to Fill Out and Submit the Air Force BCA Form (AF Form 4446)

The Air Force BCA form records your height, waist circumference, and the resulting waist-to-height ratio, and it is the document that determines whether you meet Department of the Air Force body composition standards. The form currently in use is DAF Form 108 (Department of the Air Force Fitness Education and Intervention Processing); it is being replaced by DAF Form 113 (Body Composition Assessment Scorecard and Intervention Worksheet) once published.¹ A same-gender assessor takes the measurements, both of you sign, and the results are entered into myFitness.

When You Complete a BCA

Every Airman and Guardian completes a BCA at least once every six months.² Score 80 or higher on your Physical Fitness Assessment and meet the BCA standard, and you move to a 12-month cycle. The measurement usually happens in the same session as the rest of your Physical Fitness and Readiness Assessment.

How the Measurements Are Taken

The BCA captures two numbers in inches: your standing height and your abdominal circumference. Your Body Composition Manager, Unit Fitness Program Manager, or a designated Physical Training Leader takes them, and the assessor must be the same gender as the member being measured, based on the gender in the Military Personnel Data System.¹

Waist Circumference

The tape goes around your bare waist at the midpoint between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone (the iliac crest). The assessor takes three readings. Each is rounded down to the nearest half inch, not rounded to the nearest. If any of the three differ by more than one inch, the assessor takes an additional reading. The three closest are then averaged, and the average is rounded down to the nearest half inch.³

The rounding-down rule matters. A reading of 36.7 inches becomes 36.5, not 37. Across three measurements, that can move the final ratio onto the right side of the threshold.

Waist-to-Height Ratio

Divide the final abdominal circumference by your height. A 36-inch waist and a 72-inch height give a ratio of 0.50. You meet the body composition requirement if the ratio is below 0.55.¹ A ratio of 0.55 or above does not meet the standard and triggers further evaluation.⁴

Filling Out the Form

Start with the administrative fields:

Full legal name, as it appears in official personnel records.
Identification number: Social Security Number or Department of Defense Identification Number.
Unit assignment.
Age and gender, which are verified against personnel records.

Then record the physical data: standing height, the three individual waist readings, the rounded-down average, and the calculated waist-to-height ratio. Recheck the arithmetic. An error can enroll you in the Body Composition Improvement Program when nothing is warranted, or hide a result that needs attention.² Leave nothing blank. Administrative offices return incomplete or illegible forms, and while yours is out, your fitness record shows as non-current.

Signatures

The form needs two signatures before it becomes an official record. The assessor signs and dates to certify that the measurements were taken according to DAFMAN 36-2905 and not self-reported. A witness signs and dates to confirm the process was conducted properly. Without both signatures, the form has no standing for entry into your permanent record.²

Submitting the Results

Signed results go into the myFitness application, the system of record for all fitness assessment data. Airmen and fitness program managers reach myFitness through the Air Force Portal at my.af.mil.² If myFitness is unavailable, the Fitness Assessment Cell or your UFPM documents the results on AF Form 4446 (Air Force Fitness Assessment Scorecard) and enters the data once the system is back.

Body Composition Managers enter waist-to-height ratio results, including any exemptions, into the myBodyComp module.¹ Some units also route a physical copy through the chain of command for commander review. Keep a personal copy of the signed form, digital or physical, in case a system discrepancy comes up later.

If Your Ratio Is 0.55 or Above

The first time your ratio reaches 0.55 or above, you enroll in a 12-month informal self-directed Body Composition Improvement Program (BCIP). The policy memo states that enrollment in the informal BCIP “is not considered a failure to meet the BCP standard,” and commanders will not take administrative actions during this period.¹

During the informal BCIP, you:

Schedule a medical evaluation with your Medical Treatment Facility to assess risk factors. Air Reserve Component members schedule a medical records review with their medical unit instead.
Review the Health and Readiness Optimization (HeRO) Body Composition Guide for nutrition and exercise resources.
Develop a body composition improvement plan covering your strategy, resources, and counseling options, and submit it to your Body Composition Manager and unit commander.
Reassess your waist-to-height ratio at the end of the 12-month window.

Still above 0.55 at the end of the informal program, and you enroll in a formal self-directed BCIP. That enrollment counts as your first official failure to meet the body composition standard.¹ An unsatisfactory score on the Physical Fitness and Readiness Assessment carries consequences that escalate with repeated failures, and commanders have discretion to apply actions including counseling, letters of reprimand, deferred or withheld promotion, ineligibility for reenlistment, and, by the fourth failure within 24 months, a required separation package.³

Medical Exemptions

If a medical condition prevents you from undergoing the body composition measurement, your healthcare provider can document a BCA exemption on AF Form 469, the Duty Limiting Condition Report. Without that specific notation on the AF Form 469, you will still have a BCA taken even if you are on a medical profile for other fitness components.¹ The Body Composition Manager enters the exemption into myBodyComp so your record shows an exemption rather than a missed assessment. Start with your Medical Treatment Facility if you think you qualify; the provider decides, not your chain of command.

1
Department of the Air Force. Body Composition Program Policy Memo
2
Department of the Air Force. DAFMAN 36-2905 – Department of the Air Force Physical Fitness Program
3
Department of the Air Force. DAFMAN 36-2905 – Department of the Air Force Physical Fitness Program
4
Defense.gov. Additional Guidance on Military Fitness Standards