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What airmen are saying online about the new PT test

Fitness should be a way of life especially in the military — all branches. Fitness testing should be more random like random urinalysis. We should always be prepared and in shape to pass. Fitness needs to become more of a culture in the Air Force. Right now it appears to only be an issue the month leading up to PT testing.

— Holly, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

If we need to be fit to fight, why not survey everyone who’s deployed in the last five years? Find out what they had to do, what they had to lift, how far they needed to run or walk? We’re not the Army leaping through barbed wire and dodging bullets for days on end, so find out what our airmen are doing and make sure everyone is up to par to deal with that fight.

— Melissa, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam

I still don’t understand how someone being able to run 1.5 miles in a certain time makes them fit. Running is not for everyone. There are far better exercises to prove someone is fit that are less strenuous and a lot safer to the human body. I’ve been to the desert several times with individuals that have aced the PT test and dropped like a rock in the heat. The whole program needs to be adjusted per individual not everyone as a group. We are not all the same.

— Frank, Aviano Air Base, Italy

Outstanding news. The changes will pay positive dividends to the Air Force and to each individual that makes the commitment to their fitness. The Chair Force will just be a bad memory.

— Rich, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas

They need to leave the run how it is. Strength is more important; they should take the points from the waist and distribute it to push-ups and sit-ups. Maybe even it out like the Army PT test.

— Jess, Beale Air Force Base, Calif.

I notice no commitment from leadership to provide adequate facilities for year-round fitness training. Fairchild is finally working toward a new gym only because the roof on the existing WWII building collapsed this past winter due to snow. We need indoor running tracks and workout centers large enough to accommodate the military populations. Let the retirees and dependents go downtown.

— Bill, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

We have missed the most important part about being combat-ready — strength testing. People who are skinny and can run long distances well can blow off the push-ups and sit-ups and still get a passing score. We should remove the waist measurement and have each section worth 33 percent of the total score. Then we would really have a leaner, meaner Air Force.

— Micah, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

The Air Force is so worried about training us to be fit to fight that they’ve neglected to train the majority of us how to turn and fight. For the last decade we've been trying to separate from other services and stand out which is a waste of time and taxpayers’ resources since we all work as one with other services on the battlefield. We need to reincorporate back into the Army Air Corps way of thought and train to fight not just look good in our uniforms. Appearance and perception are important but so is performance under pressure. The military image will always be in question by the public and has been since prior to the Vietnam War.

— David, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho

The AF does a good job of training and providing its members with the necessary tools in order to perform their jobs. Yet when it comes to our fitness we are told that it is our own responsibility to comply with an AF-directed mandate and a commander's program. I would never just hand my troops a CDC volume and tell them to complete it without any guidance or support from my end. That’s exactly how the PT program is conducted at most locations. If it's such a big concern, then why not bring it back in-house and spend the necessary time working out as a unit.

— Ken, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

The program lost its teeth when the weight charts went bye-bye. In the old days you feared the scale not the PT test. Bring back the weight standards and see how fast people start getting in shape.

— D.J., Schriever Air Force Base, Colo.

I’II think overall the changes are positive; however, with only civilian proctors, it is going to be a huge backlog on the assessments.

— Tara, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

Someone 5’2” can’t run as fast as someone 6’3”. It’s not physical; it’s genetic. We’ve developed, tested, implemented and issued a completely new uniform in a shorter amount of time than it has taken to develop a fitness system that works. Let’s just go back to the ERGO Test.

— T.J., Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.