Air Force Timess writer Markeshia Ricks reports this week about a former fitness liaison's prescription for fixing Air Force PT. She writes:
Chief Master Sgt. Al Schneider first arrived at the Naval Explosive Ordnance School at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., two years ago, fresh off his fourth deployment. He knew the physical strain of being a deployed explosive ordnance disposal operator; he also knew existing physical training for them wasn't cutting it.
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"The first thing that kind of struck me was, 'We've got EOD candidates graduating EOD school and failing their Air Force fitness test at their first duty station,' " said Schneider, the 366th Training Squadron, Detachment 3, superintendent. "That is a total recipe for failure, especially when these airmen are going to go out and get their upgrade training and immediately deploy."
Those deployments are often to the rugged terrain of Afghanistan, where EOD operators are expected to haul 70 pounds on a ruck march through the mountains.
"A lot of times you've got to be able to physically move from Point A to Point B," Schneider said. "If you can't do that, then you're a liability to the mission."
So, a year ago, his unit, with the help of then-Eglin Military Fitness Program Liaison Ben Gleason, developed a fitness regimen based on principles Gleason believes could help most airmen not only improve at PT but also reduce injuries and save health care costs.
Read the rest of Markeshia's story here.
