Air Force Community - Air Force Times

Shape up, Air Force

The Air Force plans to overhaul the way airmen get fit and stay fit.

That’s a mission that needs to be expedited: 56 percent of the force is fat by service standards and more than one in 10 of the total force is obese.

While new requirements are still being worked out, there are suggestions from the field that are no-brainers. For starters, airmen ought to take the physical training test at least twice a year rather than just once.

Today, airmen “go out and kill themselves once a year and then they let themselves go for the rest of the year,” said one tech sergeant and PT leader.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney McKinley recognizes the need to set the bar higher.

“We want people not just fit enough to pass the test,” he said. “We want people fit to fight.”

He urges commanders to order more on-the-spot PT tests, which will go a long way toward motivating airmen to get into shape.

Force PT leaders advocate, among other measures, a tougher PT test and workout regimens that build the sort of strength and flexibility needed on the battlefield. They also cite a need to rework unfair waist-measurement standards that don’t account for height.

Once the Air Force settles on physical fitness standards that are tough and fair, it needs to consistently enforce them. Consider that in 2007, the Navy cut 2,241 enlisted sailors — officer data were not available — for not meeting fitness standards. The Air Force, with an end strength close to the Navy’s, separated 156 out-of-shape officers and enlisted.

The Air Force’s sorry overall physical fitness level is an embarrassment to the service and to all the airmen who keep themselves in shape.

Top leaders need to take charge, get the force in shape and restore pride to wearing the uniform.