Sit-ups don't make a soldier, the Army has decided. So its 30-year-old fitness requirements are getting a battlefield-inspired makeover.
Soon every soldier will have to run on a balance beam with two 30-pound canisters of ammunition, drag a sled weighted with 180 pounds of sandbags and vault over obstacles while carrying a rifle. Those were just some of the tests the Army unveiled Tuesday as it moves toward making its physical training look more like combat.
Right now soldiers have to complete sit-ups, push-ups and a two-mile run twice a year within times that vary by age and gender. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the general in charge of the Army's initial military training, said he has been working to change that test for years.
Yahoo
Hertling said the current test "does not adequately measure components of strength, endurance, or mobility," or predict how well a soldier would do under fire.
Some of us NCO's have been saying this for years....and years....
I completed Master Fitness Training in 2001, and they were developing a 'new' six event APRT that we took. I guess there was no rush...
Finally! Sense!
ReplyDeleteLook at the problem the navy is having with its BMI standard.
And yet, based on experience, I sense that lurking in the background are a myriad of staff weenies waiting to "suppliment", "amend", and otherwise jigger with this in such a way as to nullify any benefit it may have.
You may be right....but I have witnessed a significant shift in the attitudes of up and coming junior leaders. I think some of this is filtering up the ranks as these leaders get promoted. We've also had some dynamic senior leaders emerge in the last 10 years.
ReplyDeleteIt's still an uphill battle, but I'm confidant [speaking for the Army] that at least some positive changes are forthcoming.