Heres a video explaining in detail the changes in fitness standards for the USMC from 1990 to today.

https://youtu.be/80b9HTdmWI0?si=G52txOL_UL6Jq4PD

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
Up until I retired and even after things changed significantly under President Reagan, there were plenty of physical fitness exemptions granted for a variety of reasons; none, as far as I know to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, but exemptions nevertheless. One, for example, was one that a fellow CID agent used. When he was an MP years before he had been shot (unintentionally) in the knee by a fellow soldier and had trouble running. He was permitted to substitute a somewhat similarly-demanding bicycle ride for the run. Other people had various “profiles,” some permanent.

Yes. The 2min p/u, 2min s/u, 2 mile run test era had alternate events for the 2 mile if you had a profile. 2.5-mile walk, 6.2-mile bike (single speed), and 800-yard swim.

I think the real question is the physical condition of our enemies troops.

Obviously China is the biggest concern. What physical condition do they require for their military men?

A secondary question is what do they require for their female military members.

Hegseth sees and realizes the seriousness of our current situation.

Better to be proactive than reactive.

Your thoughts?
.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I think the real question is the physical condition of our enemies troops.

Anyone wondering about how our main enemy these days (China) would fight and what would be expected of its soldiers should read the book This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach (about the Korean War). The China of today isn’t the China of the 1950s, but there are ample reasons to believe that today’s leadership would be no more sparing of their troops’ lives in a major conflict.

Physical fitness is important for many reasons and I am thankful to this day that for over 20 years I was required to do things I didn’t want to. But if a modern military force expects to win battles because its troops can do more pushups than the enemy’s soldiers can, they have far more serious problems than whether its women members can do as many pushups as its men.

Wow. Nice way to wildly oversimplify an issue. No one believes the next war will be won by a “push-up contest”. If you think fat troops are ok because they can code then that is pure unfiltered stupidity.

This is a good move. Period. Distilling standards down to one standard for everyone in each field is also a good move. Multiple standards for the same job benefit absolutely no one.

Hmm ….
Simplifying in an effort to make a succinct comment about a minor issue and prompted by personal experience and a knowledge of history, or misrepresentation due to a hair trigger and poor reading comprehension. Which one?

I believe I’ll take column A.

As for what no one believes, I’m not certain about that. I get the impression from much of what I’ve read that the speech could have been etched in stone and handed down from a mount, and “No fat generals!” will ensure peace for our time. Approximately 94% of American adults have never served in any of the armed forces and although I don’t know the percentage, it is clearly obvious by countless signs that the vast majority have no knowledge of history of any sort, much less military history.

One never rises to an event. They rise to their level of training. There’s not a version of this that can explain away or minimize standards.

Sixty seven here. I spend a couple of hours at jujitsu weekly. My BMI is 23.4, I have a pretty active lifestyle for an old fart. Just spent 4 days wading rivers and climbing hills for my annual salmon fishing trip.

I could handle the sit ups and push ups no problem but I'm going to need 22 minutes to walk 2 miles because TANFW I'm running any farther than the nearest hard cover.

I can read sig. Your last paragraph is trash. Sorry you can’t see that. When you were in standards meant something. This event is returning to standards. The higher the better. You inferred pushups wouldn’t win a war. Not me. Yes, that is oversimplifying.

Physical training is a cornerstone of any competent military. Not a “minor issue”. Once again your words not mine.

Attempting to speak eloquently ain’t the same thing as making a good point.

I thought the Army just updated the test to have functional strength evaluation such as carrying 50 caliber ammo container? I have tested on the 1979 US Navy PFT, sit-ups pull-ups and three mile run. But, I was encouraged by the revised requirements shown here: https://www.goarmy.com/how-to-...requirements/fitness