Fitness crackdown pushed into combat zones

[CommunityEditor]

Combat deployments come with a long list of stressors.

The seemingly endless cycle of workdays, Spartan living conditions, distance from family. Add the chance of death or disability from a sniper’s bullet or roadside bomb, and it’s easy to get discouraged.

Now, Marines can add one more anxiety to the list — worrying about getting fat.

That’s the message the Corps sent out April 23, when senior leaders revoked the combat-zone exemption for the Body Composition Program. Now, some Marines will have to fight their weight while fighting the enemy, or risk a blemish on their permanent record.

“Deployment to a combat zone no longer automatically places affected Marines in an inactive [Body Composition Program] status,” a Corps-wide message announced on April 23.

It’s the latest step in Commandant Gen. James Conway’s crackdown on all things related to fitness and appearance. Also approaching in the coming months: body fat standards are expected to tighten, a new Combat Fitness Test will be finalized and a new Military Appearance Program will give commanders a broad — and subjective — tool for controlling how Marines look.

The latest move reverses the December 2005 directive that allowed commanders to suspend the BCP program “due to the inherent difficulties and impracticalities associated with monitoring Marines assigned to the BCP while in a combat zone.”

Now, commanders who don’t want to monitor Marines on the BCP will have to get a formal waiver from senior leaders. Approval will depend on the “unit type and anticipated area of operation.”

The new rule may not have much effect on Marines who are not already assigned to a BCP, since most commanders conduct the routine, semi-annual body fat tests before and after deployments. It will affect Marines who have failed the body fat test and have been placed on the BCP, which typically involves remedial fitness and nutritional counseling.

Marines will continue to be exempt from the Physical Fitness Test while deployed.

Various opinions on policy
Some Marines supported the new policy.

“Marines falling out of shape, when their conditioning affects whether they and their fellow Marines live or die, is not something that we should accept,” one corporal said.

Others suggested the change will mean little in practice.

“The dining facilities are great out there, but the discipline it takes is no different than if you were back here. It’s up to the individual to still do what is required,” said Sgt. Maj. Scott Mykoo of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 31 in Beaufort, S.C. “What they’re saying is: ‘We’re going to hold you to a certain standard.’”

The Army currently does not exempt deployed soldiers from weight and body fat requirements.

Enlisted Marines who have been placed on the BCP will be ineligible for promotion no matter whether their unit has received a waiver. The only exemption will be “meritorious combat promotion for heroic actions in combat,” the message said. Officers, on the other hand, only will see their promotions delayed if their commander says they do not meet the physical qualifications, regardless of combat zone assignment or BCP status.

For Marines who have already failed to meet the body fat standards and were placed in a remedial program, their next fitness report will be adverse, no matter whether the Marine has deployed with a combat unit, according to the new rules.

The current body fat standards are 18 percent for men and 26 percent for women. Under the existing rules, Marines can go up to 22 percent for men and 30 percent for women if they score a First Class on the Physical Fitness Test.

Those rules are expected to change soon. Under the new system that will take effect this summer, Marines will get no special consideration for scoring a top-notch PFT. Instead, the new standards will be stair-stepped to rise as a Marine gets older.

Rising percentages
Under the new policy, allowable body fat percentages rise over time:

* Age 26 and younger: 18 percent for males and 26 percent for females.

* Age 27-39: 19 percent for males and 27 percent for females.

* Age 40-45: 20 percent for males and 28 percent for females.

* Age 46 and up: 21 percent for males and 29 percent for females.

Officials say those new rules will be formally unveiled in June, followed by a grace period of about 60 days for Marines to get into compliance. After that, commanders will begin enforcing them, officials said.

In the past, the body fat standards have been enforced sporadically and arbitrarily, a study last year by the Marine Corps Inspector General found. The investigators visited 19 units to assess the Marines’ body composition and the enforcement efforts of their commanders.

After rounding up more than 4,500 Marines, they screened out Marines who scored higher than 200 on their recent physical fitness test and zeroed in on 481 of them for the study.

They found that only about 1-in-3 overweight Marines was enrolled in a remedial program as required.

Marines who were placed into the remedial program were disproportionately from the lower enlisted ranks. While Marines from all ranks failed the tests, 85 percent of those ultimately sent to the remedial program were sergeants or below, the IG study found.

Some grumbled that the overall crackdown may be bad for morale.

“Authorities may have significantly underestimated the consequences of these severe BCP crackdown changes,” said one former Marine familiar with the policy. “The risk of being promoted behind one’s peers, or not at all, is not something Marines take lightly.

“Although authorities may have been counting upon this fear or threat as a means toward successful enforcement, they may have underestimated the extreme offense Marines will take to the resulting implication of their combat service being underappreciated relative to the authorities’ hang-up with personal appearance.”


Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...atbcp_050708w/

I personally think that this is going a bit too far. Whatever happened to the days when we were a Marine Corps that cared more about winning battles than presenting an "image" of perfection. I swear, we're only a couple short steps from looking like the Air Force.

[spook]

Someone or some people obviously do not have their priorities straight. Who in their right mind would prioritize “Body Composition” above “Staying alive”? I know who, people that work behind a desk in an air conditioned room that does not deploy to a combat zone. Reality check, service members are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, shouldn’t they be worrying more about staying alive, accomplishing the mission, and returning home? What did Cpl. Jason Dunham sacrifice his precious life for? For his fellow Marines or for Body Composition?

Semper Fidelis
or
Semper BCP

[The Universal Curmudgeon_guest]

Originally Posted by spook

[size="4"]Someone or some people obviously do not have their priorities straight. Who in their right mind would prioritize “Body Composition” above “Staying alive”?

If you had been following the news, you might have noticed the stories about how there is a growing problem with obesity in the troops that are deployed to Iraq (I'm not so sure if the same problem exists in Afghanistan).

Being overweight in the harsh climates of Iraq and Afghanistan is one heck of a lot more unhealthy than it is in most places in the US and being overweight in combat is one heck of a lot more unhealthy than it is sitting behind a desk at Fort Fumble.

Please do not take the above as, in any way, begrudging the deployed troops their access to "junk food", because they are entitled to all of the comforts of home that we can supply them with.

However, when those "comforts of home" start to be misused to the point where they are likely to have a negative impact on the mission, then either

1. they have to be curtailed

or

2. the troops have to be convinced not to abuse them.

If it takes reimposition of mandatory weight standards to convince the troops that they shouldn't try to live on Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks, isn't that better than saying "OK, from now on the only place you can eat is in the Mess Tents and you WILL eat whatever we give you."?

[CrimLaw]

Perhaps if they weren't serving such crappy, calorie-laden food in the DFACs, servicemembers wouldn't gain weight!! I gained ten pounds while I was over there just eating the food (and I avoided the fried-food line as much as possible). Luckily, I've dropped the ten pounds I put on since I've been back because I have had access to much healthier foods and I don't have to worry about snipers when I go for a jog.

[ringjamesa]

Originally Posted by CommunityEditor

Enlisted Marines who have been placed on the BCP will be ineligible for promotion no matter whether their unit has received a waiver. The only exemption will be “meritorious combat promotion for heroic actions in combat,” the message said. Officers, on the other hand, only will see their promotions delayed if their commander says they do not meet the physical qualifications, regardless of combat zone assignment or BCP status.

Article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news...atbcp_050708w/

I found the double standard particularly interesting

I'm tired of seeing clinically obese Soldiers in my Army. One Soldier in my unit was permitted to re-enlist during the "grace period" between old and new standards, now weighs MORE and is once again flagged. He doesn't seem to care and is happy being a fat Specialist. Another troop I was once stationed with weighed more than 310 pounds, was on a no-run profile and I was shocked to see he deployed with his unit. Both of them look like slobs in uniform.

So I have no issues with the USMC trying to nip this in the bud before it becomes a serious issue. Good on 'em.

Disgruntled LT

The new crackdown in the weight programs shouldn't be one of the main topics. Marines are already under a lot of pressure being away from home and etc. The Corps is beginning to look like models for war. Is weight really the issue or the Corps is trying to keep the bar up. The new standards will hurt both senior SNCO's and NCO's.

Alot of Marines that I personally know worked out a lot during thier deployment to Iraq, and on our next deployment this year(my first) we all have the intention on lifting like crazy and getting in the best shape of our lives. Maybe this is only the junior Marines and NCOs and not officers or SNCOs, but us junior Marines are going to be using this perfect opportunity to get in shape. But Im in the Infantry, and wont be on a huge base with Burger Kings and Starbucks.
Maybe this order should be restricted to Marines who are not on FOBs or rotating between small outposts.

It's funny you see quotes from the non Ground Combat troops in this article. The KBR chow halls are well and good in Iraq; however, you will rarely see 03's or other ground combat members at them. For 3 months I know I never ate even a UGRA. Unfortunately when your deployed to a forward operating base the only thing they give you to eat are MRE's and frozen pizza's. I was also surprised upon coming back to 29 Palms seeing that they had installed a Church's Chicken on the base.

Marines with shorter/wider endoskeleton's will suffer when they deploy to Iraq thats a given. Winter deployments in Iraq presents extremely fewer chances to exercise to what the Marine Corps expects for their weight standards. It's hard enough you are out from 6am to 3am on a daily basis. The last thing a Marine wants to do after a 2 hour foot patrol or 7 hour mounted patrol is hit the gym for an hour to an hour and a half; however, a lot of marines do it.

I think in the future you'll see a higher rate belligerences from younger marines. Morale gets pretty low already, belligerency IS an issue in the combat zone. This only helps to validate their complaints.