If a Marine is over the weight standard, an FFI or CPTR first tapes them with the circumference method. Since MCBul 6110 amended MCO 6110.3A, a Marine who still exceeds the body fat standard by tape must then be verified on an approved BIA machine — the InBody 770 — before formal assignment to the Body Composition Program.
Body fat measurement in the Marine Corps is governed by MCO 6110.3A, the Body Composition and Military Appearance Program order, and updated by MCBul 6110, which added a second measurement step the Order alone does not describe.
The starting point is the weigh-in. A Marine who is within the DoD height and weight table is not measured for body fat at all. One who is over goes straight into a Body Composition Evaluation, using tape, run by an FFI or CPTR on the same day as the weigh-in:
circumference (taping) technique, on the same day as the weight measurement
MCO 6110.3A, para 3e
The tape measurement itself is specific about where and how: bare skin except for the female hip measurement, three readings averaged, and only a Force Fitness Instructor (FFI) or Command Physical Training Representative (CPTR) may take it.
Circumference Measurement. Body composition will be estimated using the circumference-based method
MCO 6110.3A, para 3f(5)(c)
That circumference value is looked up against the height/weight tables in enclosure (4) to estimate a body fat percentage. MCO 6110.3A, as written, treats that estimate as final — but MCBul 6110, which is not a stand-alone document but a bulletin amending the Order, adds a step for anyone the tape still fails:
If a Marine is not within body fat standards initially using the circumference technique, then the CPTR or FFI must conduct a BCE using an approved BIA machine within seven working days. The MCBCMAP assignment process may be initiated while Marines await the conduct of a BIA scan; however, formal assignment to MCBCMAP will not occur until body fat is verified by a BIA machine
MCBul 6110, para 4a(2)(a)
In other words, tape can put a Marine into the process, but tape alone can no longer keep them formally assigned to the Body Composition Program — a Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) scan has to confirm it first. Only one BIA machine is currently approved for this:
Currently, the InBody 770 (IB770) is the only USMC-approved BIA machine for use in the MCBCMAP
MCBul 6110, para 4a(2)(e)
MCBul 6110 also restricts who can run that scan and what has to be kept afterward: only a CPTR or FFI may operate the BIA machine and verify the result, a same-sex evaluator is not required, and the machine-printed results sheet has to be signed and filed as the record of verification.
A current Physical Fitness Test or Combat Fitness Test score of 285 exempts a Marine from the Body Composition Program outright, and a score of 250–284 earns a 1% additional body fat allowance — both unchanged by the Bulletin.