quote:

Originally posted by flashguy:
When I was active duty USAF, the aerobics test was either a 1.5-mile run or a 2-mile walk (in 18 minutes or less--a pretty fast walk!). I did the walk.

There would be some merit, I guess, in customizing the PT requirements to the AFSC/MOS, but that assumes that no one ever works outside their assigned specialty. USMC asserts that every Marine is a rifleman, even high-ranking officers (and tradition seems to support the idea) so they'd all have to pass the combat level PT.

flashguy

When actively getting sterioid injections in my knees to pass the fitness test, I had a time period where I was told to stop running (waiver), and as such had to do the walk. I found the run easier to pass than the walk. I didn't make it much longer though, my broken knees and back prevented my last enlistment and I left with 4 years to go.

Hound Dog nailed it above. The AF needed to purge the system of all the people it broke from 2001-2010, and the changed PT standards were a good way to do it. While the VA is covering me medically for injuries tied to service, it isn't the same as a retirement where they'd have to cover all my medical. 3/4 of my CSAR unit went down the same way I did. Most of them just went after the 51%+ service connection and found ways to make that work for them. I'm trying to keep my FAA medical and gun rights...

How else are the trannies and sissies going to get in and take over the military?

Easy on the Air Force !! I served 4 years and head to endure brutal heat when my air conditioning unit stopped working for 2 days in my private dorm room.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Easy on the Air Force !! I served 4 years and head to endure brutal heat when my air conditioning unit stopped working for 2 days in my private dorm room.

At my first duty station (Mt. Hebo AFS, Oregon) the enlisted troops were in bunk beds in an open barracks and the single officers (me) had a room 13 ft square with a privvy down the hall. As time progressed the quarters did improve.

flashguy

I guess if you can run the floor buffer, you don't need to be able run a mile.

As a former U S Army Drill Sgt from the early 1970"s it is hard to understand how the physical fitness program has fallen to the wayside buy listening to the new standards. .......... Remember once when a division commander (full bird colonel) sent several fellow drill sgts (Hawaiian ancestry)(south pacific) to the hospital because he thought they were overweight and he had a major meltdown when the doctor gave them a clean bill of health as per medical standards at the time. .................. drill sgt.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, given what this retarded administration is doing to the military as a whole, the most important purchase in the coming years military budgets is going to be body bags. Lots of them.

Wtf ?

When I was in we did a 1.5 mile in under 12 min., as many push-ups in 2 min, as many sit-ups in 2 min. Weighed us, fat clamped us.

We did the same when I became a police officer.

They also weighed us and checked body fat (but that’s easily measured wrong with calipers)

I think it’s the Cooper test.

Worked fine.

Over the years the police test morphed into the POPAT police officer physical aptitude test…
Starting from seated in the car you are given a location (oak and main)
Start whistle, you drag “Bob” the dummy from the passenger seat to some steps 25 yards away,
Kick in a door
Run up and down the steps three times
25pushups
Crawl 25 yards thru a tube
25 sit-ups
Run 100 yds turn and run back
They ask you your location, if you forget you run 100 yds there and back and the time stops.

It was difficult for different people but you only had to pass it for certification from the academy, some departments never tested people again or they used the Cooper test.

As afar as units not having a track, that’s a BS answer. Every unit I was at had a road onto the unit/base. We started at the gate and ran until the spray painted mid point and ran back. It ain’t rocket science

^^^^ Agree. Our track was called "perimeter fence".

We used to run up and down our runway at RAF Wyton, until the PTI said stop.

End to end it was 9070 feet, with a bump in the middle so you couldn't see the other end until you got there....

The ChairForce in action.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
LOL

I'm actually shocked that the USAF who seems to be wanting to morph themselves into Army #2 anymore (see how fast they ditched the blue/gray camo for the Army's new uniform) didn't try to copy the fiasco that is the Army Combat Fitness Test.

I well remember those fitness tests when I was in the army. Most of it consisted of TIMED exercises. We had the shuttle run then, too. 25 yards, and as I remember we had to complete 4 trips (for 100 yards) with observers/judges with watches for most of the exercises. Strange how some people seem to think actually testing the physical conditions of soldiers who may end up in combat on a moments notice, is it not?

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by cruiser68:
So basically some fat kid that sits on the couch eating twinkies could pass. Sad to see that we have to lower the standards because they can't get enough people to pass.

They'll be flying the drones.

That's probably true. While the idea bugs me, the reality is that the fat kid that spent years gaming is probably going to be a better drone pilot than a HS football player who is in great shape.

basically -- it's come down to there should be different standards based on Occupational Specialty.

why should the 'standard' be the same for a Infantry Ranger vs. a logistics specialist? the Army has made some effort in this area but the implementation of their 'new' Combat Fitness Test has been a train wreck.

my opinion is -- if you can run 2 miles in 18 mins or so; do 50 push ups in 2 minutes and 50 situps in 2 minutes, hike 6 miles in 90 mins w/ a pack on and have no major disabilities -- you probably have a very good chance at succeeding at the vast majority of soldier tasks. not a Rambo fitness level -- but good enough to start.

the 'standard' has seemingly always been USMC > Army > AF / Navy ... in terms of fitness testing / general requirements. but the job requirements vary of course. not too many people in the Navy are ever asked to hike 15 miles w/ a 40 lb pack on. but in the Army I never once touched a fire hose or had to wear a SCBA. apples / oranges and all that.

bottom line is service-wide they should tailor the requirement to the job specialty.

=====================================

What about those times when the situation on the ground goes to shit and the troops have to be able to fight to survive? I spent a lot of time along the east/west German border and nobody was willing to short cut fitness training back then, and we were a armored outfit. The message finally got thru that if your vehicle got disabled you would probably have to run for it!

The drones will be siting like brand new Ford's, waiting for chips that aren't coming.

When I joined in 1969 it was all about the run and aerobic exercise. The more you run, the better you are, they said. So we did. When you are young you think you are invincible. So damn many of us ended up with serious joint breakdown years later as a result. There are other ways to maintain fitness than those jarring bone rattling runs. If the job requires it, of course you have to do it, but your personnel are going to pay for it later. Air Force Special Warfare troops have the toughest training and fitness standards in the world, but the guy working on jets on the flightline does not need to meet those standards.
https://www.airforce.com/caree...eers/special-warfare

My 1SG yelled at me one day that, "You are a soldier first", then you are whatever your MOS is.

Hence, everyone needed to meet the basic level of fitness that the APFT measured. Even most "fat boys" could pass. Maxing the test was one thing, but as I recall, a "Go" was only 40 push-ups, 45 sit-ups, and a 16:40 2 mile. Not all that difficult (at that age).

ETA: Google reveals that at that time there was an option for an 800M swim, 6.2 mile bike, or 2.5 mile walk in place of the 2 mile run. I had no idea that these were options back then. I would have taken the swim in a heartbeat over the run as I couldn't run worth a damn yet I swam like a fish.

quote:

Originally posted by Elk Hunter:


What about those times when the situation on the ground goes to shit and the troops have to be able to fight to survive? I spent a lot of time along the east/west German border and nobody was willing to short cut fitness training back then, and we were a armored outfit. The message finally got thru that if your vehicle got disabled you would probably have to run for it!

not saying saying there should be no standards. just saying its flawed to have one single standard. because for combat soldiers -- the standard should be set MUCH higher. and for specialty / support MOS's -- their JOB performance / specialization is more important than them being able to do 100 push ups correctly.

and let's be realistic -- if the Warsaw Pact hordes had over-run your Kaserne back in '82 the clerk-typists with rifles they have never even zeroed would not have made a difference.

----------------------------------

I hope I'm not around to see us get our ass kicked, and you can bet your bottom dollar that we have an ass-whipping in store for us. We're flat-out begging for it, like a bitch in heat.