CBRF4I59
04-15-2009, 11:41 AM
"Ditch the 32-inch waist and measure combat fitness. Make airmen run a half-mile, lift a 30-pound dumbbell and do as many pushups as they can, and Capt. Thomas Worden thinks the Air Force will have a better idea of just what shape it’s in to fight.
Worden started thinking about combat readiness on assignment in Afghanistan. He didn’t care whether the airmen piling into his convoy had 32-inch waists. He just wanted to know they could run for cover if the Taliban started shooting.
Too many times Worden didn’t find many airmen up to the task and worried that the Air Force’s fitness test was part of the reason.
When Worden returned in April 2007 from his yearlong deployment with an Afghan provincial reconstruction team, the civil engineer went off to the Air Force Institute of Technology, the service’s graduate school of engineering and management, where he set out to come up with a test to accurately measure an airman’s combat fitness.
What Worden discovered was that the Air Force’s physical fitness test does a good job of predicting who might have high medical bills in 20 years but fails miserably at weeding out who can’t hack it on the battlefield.
So Worden had 86 airmen take the Air Force’s PT test and do nine activities that the Marine Corps and Army use to test fitness.
The activities — six from the Army, three from the Marine Corps — included the half-mile, mile and 1.5-mile runs; pushups; sit-ups; 30-pound dumbbell lift; standing long jump; power squat; shuttle run; and fireman’s carry.
Worden then crunched the numbers. He found that the half-mile run, 30-pound dumbbell lift and pushups did the best job of determining an airman’s combat fitness.
The Air Force’s PT test, on the other hand, was accurate 23 percent of the time. The pushup and sit-up portions did the best job of testing fitness, but the waist measurement didn’t give much of an indication. In fact, the airmen who failed the most combat fitness activities had small waists.
“Instead of penalizing those with larger waists via point deductions, the Air Force should consider either removing these measurements altogether or else require those with smaller waists to ensure that they are in fact strong enough to carry out normal combat tasks,” Worden wrote in his report.
The study came out in March as Air Force leaders were discussing major changes to the service’s fitness program. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has said he expects the changes to be announced this summer.
Although Worden said he thinks more research is needed, he also said he is convinced the Air Force — like the Marine Corps — must include combat fitness in its fitness program.
“The most important thing is that our test measures how capable you are in combat,” he said. “That’s great if you are skinny and look great in a uniform, but the question when I go out there is: Are you who I want sitting next to me in my truck?”
This AFIT student was obviously a gym rat. Let's be realistic, half a mile run?? I know for a fact that everyone in my shop can run a half a mile, along with the 30 pound dumbell and push ups. This student is definately not thinking about their core body requirements nor was he thinking about building stamina. Just because an individual can carry a ruck a few meters, it doesnt prove anything. I can tell you right now, a crackhead can run for cover if the taliban was shooting at him/her. Changing the whole PT program will take us a step back. Just reduce the waist measurement point system and focus more on the core and upper body strength. Running for cover with all of your equipment doesn't prove a single thing. I have a 32" waist and i am in favor of reducing the point system. I can tell you for a fact that i am strong enough to carry out any combat tasks. Sure lets integrate combat fitness into our PT regime, but a half a mile run, come on!!!
Worden started thinking about combat readiness on assignment in Afghanistan. He didn’t care whether the airmen piling into his convoy had 32-inch waists. He just wanted to know they could run for cover if the Taliban started shooting.
Too many times Worden didn’t find many airmen up to the task and worried that the Air Force’s fitness test was part of the reason.
When Worden returned in April 2007 from his yearlong deployment with an Afghan provincial reconstruction team, the civil engineer went off to the Air Force Institute of Technology, the service’s graduate school of engineering and management, where he set out to come up with a test to accurately measure an airman’s combat fitness.
What Worden discovered was that the Air Force’s physical fitness test does a good job of predicting who might have high medical bills in 20 years but fails miserably at weeding out who can’t hack it on the battlefield.
So Worden had 86 airmen take the Air Force’s PT test and do nine activities that the Marine Corps and Army use to test fitness.
The activities — six from the Army, three from the Marine Corps — included the half-mile, mile and 1.5-mile runs; pushups; sit-ups; 30-pound dumbbell lift; standing long jump; power squat; shuttle run; and fireman’s carry.
Worden then crunched the numbers. He found that the half-mile run, 30-pound dumbbell lift and pushups did the best job of determining an airman’s combat fitness.
The Air Force’s PT test, on the other hand, was accurate 23 percent of the time. The pushup and sit-up portions did the best job of testing fitness, but the waist measurement didn’t give much of an indication. In fact, the airmen who failed the most combat fitness activities had small waists.
“Instead of penalizing those with larger waists via point deductions, the Air Force should consider either removing these measurements altogether or else require those with smaller waists to ensure that they are in fact strong enough to carry out normal combat tasks,” Worden wrote in his report.
The study came out in March as Air Force leaders were discussing major changes to the service’s fitness program. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has said he expects the changes to be announced this summer.
Although Worden said he thinks more research is needed, he also said he is convinced the Air Force — like the Marine Corps — must include combat fitness in its fitness program.
“The most important thing is that our test measures how capable you are in combat,” he said. “That’s great if you are skinny and look great in a uniform, but the question when I go out there is: Are you who I want sitting next to me in my truck?”
This AFIT student was obviously a gym rat. Let's be realistic, half a mile run?? I know for a fact that everyone in my shop can run a half a mile, along with the 30 pound dumbell and push ups. This student is definately not thinking about their core body requirements nor was he thinking about building stamina. Just because an individual can carry a ruck a few meters, it doesnt prove anything. I can tell you right now, a crackhead can run for cover if the taliban was shooting at him/her. Changing the whole PT program will take us a step back. Just reduce the waist measurement point system and focus more on the core and upper body strength. Running for cover with all of your equipment doesn't prove a single thing. I have a 32" waist and i am in favor of reducing the point system. I can tell you for a fact that i am strong enough to carry out any combat tasks. Sure lets integrate combat fitness into our PT regime, but a half a mile run, come on!!!