Commando IPPT Standards: What Gold at 90 Takes

What are the Commando IPPT standards?

Gold is 90 points, not 85. Silver (75), Pass with Incentive (61) and Pass (51) are the same as for every other vocation. The only Commando-specific line on the NS Portal awards table is Gold: "Gold (Commando / Diver / Guards) ≥ 90".

Every other award is listed once for all vocations. The NS Portal's IPPT calculator, which has a Commando / Guards / Divers setting, applies exactly that: with it selected, a total of 85 to 89 is shown as Silver, and Gold starts at 90.

Every award also needs at least 1 point at each station. For active servicemen, MINDEF's 2015 release lists the pass at 61 rather than 51, with the same Gold 90 for Commando and Guards.

For Home Team NSmen, the MHA NS Portal sets Gold at 90 for Public Order Trooper, Fire and Rescue Officer or Specialist, Firefighter and Marine Firefighting roles. How the cash works, including top-ups, is in the IPPT incentive award guide.

What reps and 2.4km time make 90 points at your age?

Points are calibrated to your age group, so 90 takes different numbers at 20 and at 40. The table gives one route in every group: 22 points each on push-ups and sit-ups and 46 on the run.

The last column is the balanced 85 at the same age, 21 points each on the stations and 43 on the run, which is Gold for other vocations, so the two routes sit side by side.

Every figure is read from the score tables built into the NS Portal calculator. Those tables match MINDEF's servicemen PDFs (push-ups, sit-ups, 2.4km). Reps are the fewest that earn the points and times are "at or under". These are routes to the total, not a survey of what Commandos score.

To check your own mix, set the NS Portal calculator to Commando / Guards / Divers. Its "Target timing for 2.4km run" aims at 91, not 90, so the time it shows is about 10 seconds faster than the slowest time that earns Gold. The Pass, Silver and 85-point Gold routes for every age group are in IPPT score by age.

Where do the extra five points come from?

From the run, for most people. Near the top of the tables a station point gets expensive: under 22, push-ups score 21 points at 44 reps and 22 at 48, so each point costs about four more reps in the same minute.

The 2.4km pays a point for every 10 seconds all the way from 10:00 down to 8:30. Under 22, start from the balanced 85 of 44 push-ups, 44 sit-ups and 9:40.

Take all five points from the run and you keep 44 and 44 and run 8:50, which is 50 seconds faster. Take the balanced 90 instead and 4 more push-ups and 4 more sit-ups earn a point each, while a run 30 seconds faster earns the other three, so 48, 48 and 9:10.

Taking all five from the stations costs 20 more reps, for example 48 push-ups and 60 sit-ups with the 9:40 run.

The station-led route needs full marks on both 1-minute stations, which leaves no margin for one rep the assessor does not count. The run-led route needs the fastest time on the table. In our coaching experience most people land in between, because a 9:10 runner usually already has the push-ups, and the last 30 seconds come off with interval work rather than more volume.

How do you train for a 90-point IPPT?

Train it as a run test with two strength stations attached. Every pace comes from your target time, which you take from the age table above, by the same rule as the pace table in our 2.4km run training plan: 400m repeats about 4% quicker than goal pace, tempo about 12% slower.

A 9:30 target is 570 seconds, so goal pace is 95 seconds a 400m lap. Repeats are 95 x 0.96 = 91 seconds, or 1:31 a lap. Tempo is 95 x 1.12 = 106 seconds, or 1:46 a lap and about 4:26 per km.

1. 01Intervals once a week6 to 8 times 400m about 4% quicker than goal pace, with a 60 to 90 second walk. For a 9:30 target that is 1:31 a lap.
2. 02One tempo run15 to 20 minutes about 12% slower than goal pace, 1:46 a lap or about 4:26 per km for a 9:30 target. This is the session that holds laps four and five together.
3. 03One easy long run40 to 60 minutes at conversation pace. The aerobic base a 90-point run needs is built here, not in the intervals.
4. 04Push-ups and sit-ups for rhythmSets at the cadence your target needs. 48 reps in a minute is a rep every 1.25 seconds. Practise that rhythm in sets of 15 to 20, then a timed minute once a week.
5. 05Strength twice a weekRows, presses, split squats and loaded carries, kept away from the interval day so the run quality holds.
6. 06Mock in test order every two to three weeksPush-ups, sit-ups, then the run, and move your paces with the result.

The 2.4km paces and an 8 to 12 week block are explained in more detail in the 2.4km run training plan and how to get IPPT Gold, which is written for the 85-point Gold. The structure is the same. The targets above are what change.

What are the requirements to become a Commando?

Selection is separate from the IPPT awards. MINDEF says the selection process for Commandos and Naval Divers is more stringent than for other vocations, and that these vocations select a small group of pre-enlistees who meet the requirements and invite them to indicate interest. Those shortlisted receive a notice to attend a Vocational Assessment, which takes one full day.

• Medical screening
• Physical fitness assessment
• Psycho-motor assessment
• Psychological assessment
• Interview

Only those who meet the selection criteria after the assessment are scheduled for enlistment into the Commandos Formation or the Naval Diving Unit. MINDEF does not publish the physical fitness standard used in the Vocational Assessment, so we do not know it and do not quote one, and figures on forums are not official. Check NS Portal or CMPB if you receive a notice.

1. 01Naval DiversThe same one-day Vocational Assessment. MINDEF's answers above cover both vocations together.
2. 02GuardsWe found no published selection process or fitness standard on MINDEF's, CMPB's or the NS Portal's pages when we checked on 30 October 2026, beyond the 90-point Gold the Guards share with Commandos and Divers.
3. 03Special ForcesFor servicemen aiming further, the Army's Commandos page describes the 65-day Ranger Course and the Joint Special Forces Selection Test, with a 5-week preparatory programme open to all applicants.

How should a pre-enlistee prepare for the Commando Vocational Assessment?

The 90-point Gold and the Vocational Assessment are separate. Gold at 90 is an IPPT award for servicemen in the Commando, Diver and Guards vocations, while the assessment is a one-day selection for pre-enlistees.

MINDEF lists five components for it but publishes no fitness standard, so do not read 90 as its pass mark, and there is no number to chase. Arrive healthy, uninjured and broadly fit, and train only the parts of the assessment that training can reach.

1. 01Medical screeningArrive healthy and uninjured. Declare old injuries and conditions, and do not train through pain in the weeks before, because an injury can cost you the day.
2. 02Physical fitness assessmentBuild broad fitness rather than one test. The 90-point Gold route for your age group in the table above trains the run and stations the vocation's own IPPT standard asks for, and the walking, strength and carrying base is in our 24-week pre-enlistment fitness plan.
3. 03Psycho-motor assessmentMINDEF names it but does not describe it, so there is nothing specific to rehearse. Sleep well the nights before.
4. 04Psychological assessment and interviewBe ready to say plainly why you want the vocation, and answer honestly.

If you are not shortlisted, or not selected after the assessment, none of that training is wasted: the same fitness carries into BMT and whichever vocation you are posted to. The rules on the pre-enlistee IPPT and BMT length are in PTP vs BMT.

Can a personal trainer help you hit 90?

A coach helps most with the run, because the last 30 to 50 seconds come from pacing and session structure, and the stations from rhythm, which is easy to drill with someone counting.

In practice that means a coach on the track for the interval day, counting your push-up and sit-up rhythm on a station day, and moving your paces after each mock.

Coach rates start from S$50 a session across the roster (October 2026), each coach's own on our pricing page. We have no connection to MINDEF, the SAF or the Commandos and cannot help with selection itself, only with fitness. See IPPT and NAPFA coaching or the trainers.