www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Lind_052505,00.html

Bill Lind writes:

"As an historian, I could think of nothing other than the behavior of an earlier profile in courage, the Persian king Darius, at the battle of Issus. As the Roman historian Arrian described it,

The moment the Persian left went to pieces under Alexander's attack and Darius, in his war chariot, saw that it was cut off, he incontinently fled -- indeed, he led the race for safety ... dropping his shield and stripping off his mantle -- even leaving his bow in the war-chariot -- he leapt upon a horse and rode for his life.

Not surprisingly, Darius's army was less than keen to fight to the death for its illustrious leader. As one British officer said, commenting on U.S. marines' love of running for exercise, "We prefer our officers not to run. It can discourage the troops."

IRAQ WAR, 2005

What do you think of this Soldier?

????

Take a look again more closely:

He's wearing the Silver Star, America's 3rd highest award for valor in COMBAT.

The story of how he saved the lives of several Soldiers recently in Iraq is below, but we think you got the idea.

Maybe WE SHOULD STOP OBSESSING WITH VANITY with absurd things like the whether one's uniform is starched, the Army's sports PT test in t-shirt, running shoes and shorts and its height/weight standards made for skinny runners and START CONCERNING OURSELVES WITH PERFORMANCE in full combat gear and carrying loads---you know like WOUNDED SOLDIERS---and having a PUGNACIOUS never-say-die FIGHTING SPIRIT?

Combat APFT
www.combatreform.com/apft.htm

Real Ready Reserve
www.geocities.com/paratroop2000/realreadyreserve.htm

Reality Check for the U.S. Army
www.combatreform.com/cluelessarmy.htm

British Army saying we should embrace:

"Take the job seriously, not yourself"

First Army Reserve Soldier in Operation Iraqi Freedom to Earn Silver Star for Heroism in Fire Fight

THE FIRE FIGHT

BAGHDAD - On April 9, 2004, then PFC Jeremy Church was a driver for the 724th Transportation Company and was with convoy commander 1LT Matthew Brown on an emergency fuel mission to Baghdad International Airport (BIAP) when his fuel convoy came under attack by elements of Muqtada al Sadr's militia.

While driving along a four-mile stretch of a six-lane highway near BIAp, approximately 200 insurgents with rocket-propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), machine guns and assault rifles attacked in an area that was surrounded by two and three level houses with narrow side streets.

As soon as Church's vehicle entered the area of the ambush, it took small arms fire while explosives blasted the convoy from both sides of the road. Church drove aggressively to avoid the blasts and other obstacles such as guardrails, concrete barriers, and vehicles that were placed across the road to slow the movement of the convoy.

Within the first five minutes of the ambush, an enemy sniper wounded Brown with two shots to the head, while he was seated next to Church. Church grabbed his first aid pouch, ripped it open and instructed the wounded Brown to place a bandage over his left eye as Church continued to drive the Humvee.

While navigating the vehicle through obstacles, Church fired his rifle at insurgents with one hand while encouraging his platoon leader to stay conscious. Church continued to drive the Humvee on three tires for four miles while firing at enemy targets and changing magazines with one hand. He found an exit ramp and led the convoy to a security perimeter.

When out of range of the insurgents, Church carried Brown to safety where he could be treated and taken to a field hospital.

He then rallied the troops to mount an immediate recovery mission, going back into the fire-fight to assist other Soldiers still pinned down under fire. Church identified the assistant commander's vehicle amidst heavy black smoke and flaming wreckage of burning fuel tankers to find two more wounded Soldiers and four civilian truck drivers. He instinctively executed a hasty triage - identifying the most seriously wounded, administering first aid to a Soldier suffering from a chest wound, and then carrying the Soldier to a recovery vehicle while exposing himself to continuous enemy fire from both sides of the road.

Once all the wounded were loaded, there was no room left for Church in the vehicle. He instructed the Soldiers to take the wounded back to safety while he waited in the thick of the gun battle, under constant enemy fire.

Page 20 Army Reserve Magazine

FULL SIZE PIC

www.combatreform.com/spcjeremychurchfullsize.jpg

LTG James R. Helmly, congratulates SPC Jeremy Church on his being awarded the Silver Star for his heroic actions in saving several Army Reserve Soldiers from his unit, including 1LT Matthew Brown, right, during the firefight near the Baghdad International Airport. Brown was severely wounded.

*********************************************

Church climbed into the disabled Humvee for cover, engaged enemy targets and killed several insurgents. The recovery team returned approximately 10 minutes later to pull him out of the battle.

Returning to safety, Church immediately rendered medical treatment to two civilians with minor wounds and loaded them into vehicles for ground evacuation. Before leaving the area, Church initiated a sweep of sensitive items and weapons to prevent capture by enemy forces.

Church's bravery in the face of danger and leadership under fire saved the lives of at least five Soldiers and four civilians.

The award was presented to Church on Feb. 27, 2005 by the Chief, Army Reserve, LTG James R. Helmly during the homecoming ceremony for Soldiers of the 724th Transportation Company.

THE HERO

By Paul Adams Army Reserve Public Affairs

Jeremy Church has gone from working for a company apprehending shoplifters to becoming the first Army Reserve Soldier to earn the Nation's third highest medal, the Silver Star, for heroic actions during the Global War on Terrorism.

Once responsible for insuring safety standards were adhered to as a loss prevention associate for Wal-Mart in Bloomington, Ill., prior to being mobilized, Church took on a much larger and more dangerous role as a basic fuel hauler and escort running gun trucks as an Army Reserve Specialist with the 724th Transportation Company. His job was to haul fuel or escort and protect the civilians who were hauling fuel in Iraq.

His actions would not only change him, but one day may change the world by saving the lives of Soldiers and civilians.

Summer 2005 page 21

The 27 year-old Illinois native's story has been widely told since his return, as he, accompanied by his platoon leader, 1LT Matthew Brown, and Army Reserve officials, completed a four day New York City media tour of television, radio and newspaper interviews while appearing on talk shows and news programs. Church, in a heroic and gallant action, saved the,.life of Brown on April 9, 2004, during one of the worst convoy attacks to occur in Iraq to date.

Following Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training as a military policeman, Church completed the Combat Life Saver course that he would later employ in his career to save lives in combat. "The Combat Life Saver course benefited me that day following the attack," Church said in his matter-of-fact manner, "as well as the training I received from the 724th on how to drive the tanker systems." Church deployed as a fuel hauler but later switched over to gun trucks to protect the civilians who were hauling fuel.

On that fateful day, April 9, 2004, Church was driving the convoy commander in a Humvee. He was designated as 1LT Matthew Brown's driver back at Fort McCoy, before the unit deployed, when not running missions.

"Church is not a person who is concerned with his own well being," Brown said. "He puts others first and foremost, making sure other people are taken care of. I felt that I could count on him. I knew that he had a strong desire to do his job correctly. When you are my driver, you are my driver and there is no down time. He had a sense of dedication and willingness to do the job."

Church credits his success and survival following the insurgent attack on his convoy to his fellow Soldiers and leaders in the 724th. "I am very proud to serve under the leadership I did and with the Soldiers of the 724th. And I appreciate all the support back in the States," said Church.

Brown believes that Church doing what he did was due to his sense of loyalty and duty and fearless behavior. "When it came to that situation, Church reacted not because of his prior training (Combat Life Saver) but because of who he is as a person.

Those skills gave him the ability to take care of Soldiers and MP training gave him some knowledge on returning fire," Brown said.

According to Brown, the unit's battle drills and training as Army Reserve Soldiers was paramount to reacting to the situation properly. But he added, "The real story here is Church going back into the kill zone, when he didn't have to, when he put his life in jeopardy for everyone else and because he has such a loyalty and sense of duty to his fellow Soldiers and Company and to the Army Reserve."

"Church was always ready and mission focused," said SFC Robert Groff, platoon sergeant for 2nd Platoon, 724th. "He was very dedicated to his duty and the task at hand."

Groff believes that Church had some of the Warrior Ethos, 'Never leave a fallen comrade" instilled in him. "I believe [Church] felt that he as one could help somebody out."

Church and his battle buddies would always stick together. One of these was SPC Justin Curry. "His drive and willingness to get everybody back and not wanting to get anybody else killed is what I think made him go back into the kill zone," Curry said.

Brown said that he didn't know Church very well on a personal basis back at Fort McCoy. "We got to know each other when we were driving the roads of Iraq. That is when I began to get the sense of his dedication. I expect Church will excel at anything he wants if he has the certain motivation to pursue a certain career.

If he continues to be as focused as he is now, he will do well," Brown said.

Church remains focused on finishing his education and pursuing a career as a police officer or postal employee and staying with the 724th. He has recently re-enlisted for another six years following his return from Iraq.

"I enjoy the military," Church said. "It gives me a great sense of purpose. It gives me a foundation to form bonds with people and find very good friends and help change things in the world. I believe all Soldiers [in Iraq] are playing a part in changing the world," Church said.

He includes himself in this.

THE SILVER STAR

The Silver Star is awarded to a person serving in the U.S. Army who is cited for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States - while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force or while serving with foreign forces in armed conflict in which the United States is not a belligerent party. The required gallantry must not only be uncommon, but marked with distinction.

The Citation Star was established by the 65th Congress on July 9, 1918. It was retroactive to include those cited for gallantry in action in previous campaigns back to the Spanish-American War. On July 19, 1932, the Secretary of War approved the Silver Star medal to replace the Citation Star. This design placed the Citation Star on a bronze pendant suspended from the ribbon design. Authorization for the Silver Star was placed into law by an Act of Congress for the Army on Dec. 15, 1942. So far, 147 Soldiers have been awarded the Silver Star for service in Operation Iraq Freedom and 25 Soldiers have been awarded the Silver Star for service in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Page 22 * Army Reserve Magazine

FALKLANDS WAR, 1982

British Soldiers WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE to complete their objectives without adequate battle conditions preparation in training.

"Not all...were physically capable of enduring the long marches with heavy loads which were constant features of the Falklands War. An interesting and quite surprising occurrence was the number of physical training cadre that fell out of the marches. In garrison these cadre ran company physical training. It was determined that some of these cadre were unable to complete the force marches with such heavy loads because they were not able to maintain a high-protein diet. The British realized that the intent of physical training is not to develop professional athletes or weight lifters. The purpose of physical conditioning is to develop combat stamina". [20]

The Soldier's Load: Light Infantry in Action

AFGHANISTAN, 2002

The U.S. Army's official After-Action Review for recent Operation Anaconda combat concludes:

"O: The terrain and altitude make combat in mountains extremely physically demanding. D: Units need to get away from the normal PT routines before deploying to the mountains. Pushups, sit-ups and 5-mile runs will not prepare Soldiers. They need to have the ability to spend time in the mountains to physically adapt to the terrain and altitude. Soldiers were not used to steeper slopes and wasted time and energy. LL: Emphasis on ruck marches (6-8 mile) with heavy loads. Cardiovascular training, strength and mountain walking techniques need to be stressed. Subject matter experts (SME's) need to give blocks of instruction on even the basics of mountain walking techniques."

While we work daily to max the sports Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), our runs, push-ups and sit-ups betray us when we put our LBE, rucksack, helmet and weapon on. We are barely able to maintain an Expert Infantryman's Badge (EIB) 4 mph pace on foot. We all know of the "jack rabbits" who can run two miles under 12 minutes, but who turn into "slugs" when you put a heavy load with useful equipment on them.

VIOLATING CARDINAL FITNESS PRINCIPLE: SPECIFICITY

The reality is that the APFT is a SPORTS-oriented test not a combat-oriented test of physical fitness. This is a violation of the most basic fitness principles which is to train for the specific tasks to be done. Each morning across the U.S. Army, there are HUGE formations of people trying to run at unrealistic speeds so people can fall out and be ridiculed. That's what its really all about in the U.S. Army; how to find someone to defecate on to feel better about yourself at their expense. Visit XVIII Airborne Corps each morning. Then visit the clinics with all the broke Soldiers which also includes PARACHUTE JUMPING badly into the mix (refusal to use ankle braces, a bigger parachute, manifest jumpers by weight etc.).

A Soldier writes in:

"'Sports PT' is PT done in pure athletic conditions.

For example, the US Army standard test is 2-mile run, 2 minutes of situps, and two minutes of pushups (not in that order), all in "gymwear".

The 2-mile run is done with NO load whatsoever. Unfortunately, this means that people who run really fast for 15 minutes dominate the PT test, and are seen as the ideal -- and physical training is geared towards making greyhound runners, with little concern for upper body strength. (Got news for all you 'PT masters' who can do 2 miles in 10 minutes, and still make good scores on situps and pushups -- if you ain't GOT any upper body, it's pretty easy to lift it off the ground 75 times in 2 minutes, ain't it? But that won't help you carry heavy things?)

Personally, I'm less interested in how fast you can run 2 miles in jogging shorts and sneakers than in how long you can carry a 50 load at a reasonable pace -- and I've found damned little correlation between the two tasks. Most super runners I've met couldn't hump worth shit, and vice versa. The 'moderately good' at one was generally moderately good at the other -- but teh current test slants the emphasis the wrong direction.

In this, I agree with [1st Tactical Studies Group Director] Mike [Sparks] 100%.

No lie -- I had one Brigade Co in the Reserves who used to have your status listed as UNSAT (no pay, no credit for duty) if you fell out of the PT run. The Brigade - wide run, EVERY DAY of duty, with all personnel running at 8 minute miles, 5 mile distance.

Every month, somebody (like a 40-year old PAC clerk in HQ) would end up in the hospital. . .

Last command he ever had. . . even the 'greyhounds' who think running fast is the only skill a "REAL" Soldier needs thought he was abusing troops with that crap."

Funny how folks are "zero sum" when it comes doing something for COMBAT, but when its for GARRISON NARCISSISTIC BULLSHIT there's always "time" for it.

Wrong.

Get rid of sports running. Period. We do not have time for ANY of it.

The one thing we do insist is "ZERO SUM" IS TIME. As Napoleon said, "time and territory he can recover, TIME, never!".

When you waste the entire day on BULLSHIT, there is ZERO time for combat training.

We do not want to "measure" anyone's athletic performance or health. Combat capabilities that will win wars and bring our people back home alive.

When the sports PT 10th Mountain Division found themselves in high altitude Afghanistan, they were pooped. Ditto that for the marines. Cause--->Effect. You get what you prepared for. Spend your prep time before the war on sports BS, you pay for it when war comes. They did not SPECIFICALLY TRAIN TO CARRY HEAVY LOADS AND FIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS. SPECIFICITY. There is no short cuts. Do the deed. The time has come to wake the hell up and start being what you are supposed to be. That means DRESSING THE PART OF A SOLDIER and doing the deeds EVERY DAMN DAY. If you are a "mountain" division you move yourselves to the mountains to train ie: Fort Carson, Colorado not Fort Drum in flat upstate New York. BE REAL.

We are not.

We are mowing lawns.

Weapons are in arms vaults.

The garrison Army that is NOT protecting America has to go or America is going to go.

How to do it:

www.geocities.com/strategicmaneuver/battleboxconcept.htm

Compounding this sports spectacle each morning, the sit-up exercise is universally recognized by health/sports experts as being harmful to the lower back. What we need is an APFT that will measure combat physical fitness and then encourage the development of combat physical fitness by what we do during daily Physical Training (PT).

We recommend that we change the two-mile run to a three-mile or 6 mile speed march in BDUs, 35-pound rucksack, Kevlar(c) PASGT helmet and weapon which can be a "rubber duck" or a 2x4 piece of wood cut to a 36" length and spray painted black. To get 100 points, you must do the three miles in less than 30 minutes or 6 miles in 60 minutes for a speed of six miles per hour or better. A tangible goal. A lot of people wail about the "Soldier's Load" problem but do not do anything more than offer a band aid solution of telling leaders not to overload their men. There has to be a yardstick to prove one way or another if men are overloaded or not. If they cannot move at 6 mph with their battle gear they are not "all that they can be". If they cannot even maintain 1-2 mph they are overloaded, not properly conditioned for COMBAT or both.

This would encourage Soldiers/units to examine the gear they take into the field and how it is arranged to achieve maximum mobility. Push-ups (without the ridiculous legalism--place a BDU patrol cap on the ground, you touch it on the way down, its enough) and leg-lifts would be done prior to the speed march in BDUs with jacket removed. Leg-lifts would replace sit-ups for measurement of abdominal physical condition without harmful stress on the lower back.

Unfortunately, the Army is a collection of weak people who fear what their peers think of them.

They are mortally afraid of someone calling them a "pussy" if they do not go along with the "party line" of groupthink.

So unless you are a 300 APFT scorer...if you are then, you're an idiot who buys into the sports running BS and for you to criticize it you are criticizing yourself. In other words, you cannot condemn LSD unless you've taken it. Once you've taken it, you're hooked on it. That's the clever trap you are in. To hell with this!

1st TSG (A) Director Mike Sparks writes:

"When I switched over to the Army from the USMC in 1993, a good friend of mine and my mentor, warned me about APFT back-stabbing and 'flagging'. He said I'd soon find out.

When you are not expending every ounce of energy towards an external goal like COMBAT EXCELLENCE, the tendancy is to turn on each other. When you have a BS garrison culture like in the Army/marines you create intolerable situations of fuck-fuck games where everyone is out to destroy each other in various forms of snobbery and 'us and them'. Consider it as 'reality TV' without the TV. Here are some U.S. Army 'APFT Asshole 101' bullet statements often heard and attitudes expressed during PT tests, let's look at push-ups...

a. 'your back isn't straight'
b. 'you didn't go all the way down'
c. 'your arms didn't break a 90 degree plane'
d. I hate you and I want to make you fail the PT test
e. I envy you and I want you to get less push-ups credited than you deserve
f. 'WOW! stop! I didn't see that! Do it again!'
g. You need 45 push-ups for this EIB, I am a badge protector so you are only going to get 44! Hahahaha!
h. 'you are going too fast'

There are more...

Everything I have mentioned as APFT 'fuck-yous' has been personally experienced by me and I've seen many others have it done to them. When I do push-ups now, I touch my dam chest to the fucking dam ground and THAT STILL ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH for some; 'you are bouncing!!! that's cheating!'. You still didn't BREAK THE 90 DEGREE PLANE! What must I do? Dig a shallow depression in the ground under me so my arms will bend down far enough? Ooops! I have strong muscles in my arms and that's 'cheating' now. Sorry for existing. Maybe I should use them to propel my fists into your face? Why don't you just say it motherfucker?---the only outcome you will accept is for the Soldier doing the push-ups to fail. Because you are a goddam asshole snob.

The last time I was on active duty, I spent 50% of my time protecting my men from being DESTROYED by asshole snobs over the APFT (or any other flimsy excuse they could conjure up) as if it were the catch-all, end-all to human existence. I thought I was in the U.S. Army not back in high school on the cross-country team. Some "band of brothers" with a combat focus, huh?

Anyway, the current Army APFT is SUBJECTIVE except for the 2-mile run. If you hate the guy, you can make him fail. That's BULLSHIT.

'Fail' the APFT and not only are you 'flagged' an Army peculiar backstab where nothing good can happen to you, which is immoral in itself. So if your Soldier has earned a reward he can't receive it. As if his current "sins" have gone back in a time machine and erased all the hard work he/she did days, weeks and months before? Is it a wonder people are walking away from the Army in droves? If you hate someone you can 'flag' them for any concocted reason. If your enlistment time is up you cannot leave, if you are an officer you cannot resign etc. If you dislike someone then you damn well better have something on him and use the fucking UCMJ. That's what an organization based on HONOR would be like, but the U.S. Army is not like that, but needs to be like that. If you do not a legitimate reason to punish a Soldier just petty snobbery, then shut-the-fuck-up and don't play the little 'flag' game. The whole flag BS should be tossed out of the U.S. Army entirely as a corrosive cancer that has to be cut out before it kills the entire patient. Anyway, if you 'fail' the APFT twice (you really didn't some asshole failed you) you are out of the Army. Again, total BS by snobs out to destroy people. One of my Soldiers they tried to destroy was a great duty performer and 10-year veteran but was a female with a pear-shaped body that they decided did not fit the 'Alpha Fe-Male' Soldier image they worshipped. Sort of like how SPC Church wouldn't, either. Ever notice the ones that look good (narcissistic) are not the ones in the motor pool or doing the heavy lifting, getting the job done at the expense of their appearance? The pretty ones always seem to be recovering from some PT event (to make themselves look good) and never available to do any manual labor. Many officers and NCOs recuse themselves from any manual labor, so how can they say they are 'leading-by-example' when they are not doing anything the men will do? If the men 'followed their example' they'd sit in air-conditioned offices holding meetings and passing bad paper on other people to destroy them. They can't do that, they have lawns to mow and trees to trim!

That's why I propose a 2-6 mile ruckmarch for time. You weigh the fucking ruck on a scale. Time starts. Time ends when you cross finish line.

No opportunity for ASSHOLISM.

Too bad for the petty assholes, huh?

They can't destroy people and their sports PT BULLSHIT is stopped by COMBAT emphasis.

You could say 'ignore it', all those people out to destroy/back-stab others out of pure malice or snobbery and focus on the other improvements you want to make etc.

I have tried that for 24+ years.

EVERY TIME YOU BRING UP AN IMPROVEMENT IT AFFECTS THE 'SNOB GAME' UNDERWAY.

Want light tanks?

'We will look like those mech pussies' is the reply by those who don't want to make the improvement.

Want a flexible one quart canteen so we don't bust our lower back on parachute jumps?

"You are a pussy, I have never hurt my back on a jump on my canteen" (In other words: 'I-am-better-than-you and ther hundreds of Soldiers who have hurt their lower backs on hard plastic canteens)

How about a rucksack frame that doesn't break?

"we do not need them, the ones we have have done well for years" (don't attack my status quo mother)

I can go on and on.

The point is WHEN EGOS ARE INTERWTINED WITH EVERYTHING YOU CANNOT FIX ANYTHING.

The military is populated by WEAK "anal" people. You could take these power-hungry weaklings to Disneyland and they'd make it a horrific experience, probably get someone killed, too. I have played the dam APFT sports PT game and earned the APFT patch/badge. I was not hooked on it. I will not be hooked on the endorphin drug. I will no longer play that dam game. I will not run distances every damn day or every other day in t-shirt, shorts and running shoes. I will not waste every dam day starting in the morning in a post-sports PT, sleep-deprived, listless hang over.

So I say abolish push-ups and sit-ups if people can't be nit-picking, back-stabbing assholes about it--which years have shown they can't."

Another 1st TSG (A) Paratrooper writes in that he's been short-changed on the APFT too:

"Yep, not to the degree that Mike is refering to, but things like that certainly happen. I have watched it done to others on multiple occasions, and I have had it happen to me, from a squad leader who did not like my questioning his poor decisions (like splitting a squad into three three-man teams separated by canals and ordering one team to go 'stir up some shit'). I was told that I was not going low enough, when I was hitting my chest on the ground, and I do not have a large chest by any means."

A senior NCO writes:

"The problem is that an asshole (or an incompetent) can refuse to count your pushups because he feels your form isn't correct.

Forget the fact that most of these twits couldn't even identify the correct form (by the manual) to me if they tried (most Soldiers have no clue what the actual standard is -- just like they don't know the actual standards for weapons maintenance, tactical spacing, or digging a fighting position). . . the key point is that it becomes, 'Well I say you didn't have your back straight enough,' or 'Well, you didn't go do down far enough', etc. I've actually seen mountain climbers who could bench press small armored vehicles FAIL an APFT under the pushup test, since if they went down far enough to 'break the plane' with their elbows, their chest hit the ground (and automatic end of the test).

The APFT is required on an annual basis, minimum. However, I have always been opposed to it being scored. It should, frankly, be Pass/Fail, as the current scoring method throws PT performance in three very limited categories out of whack (actually, due to the nature of the three exercises, it throws the 2-mile run in jogging clothes into supreme position): promotion points are awarded based on PT scores, and 'PT studs' are considered better Soldiers than an expert marksman who routinely fire a 'possible' with a variety of weapons and have good fieldcraft.

Because you do PT every day, and EVERY day (even so called 'muscle' days as opposed to 'cardio' days), the emphasis is on the ability to run two to five miles at 8 minutes per mile or less (an 8-minute mile is the SLOWEST standard I have seen, except one reserve unit that allowed a 10-minute mile for the 5 mile runs). Soldiers who 'punk out' on daily push ups and sit ups are glossed over; soldiers who 'bolo' (fail) the rifle qual are merely refired on the next day available (although they catch Hell until then) -- but the kid who falls out of a daily ('training') 5 mile run risks a field grade Article 15 in some units.

I dislike the idea of requiring equipment to do the APFT, but the current PT system is completely broken, and we now have THRITY YEARS of leadership that thinks that the ultimate soldier is the winner of the Boston Marathon.

I actually had one dickweed (calling out the count per push up, as instructed) call out one number (I was doing "EIB minimum + one" for pushups and situps -- why burn out trying to "max" the test for EIB, when it's scored as Pass/Fail, and you have three days of BS still to come?), and write down another (conveniently one less than needed to pass). I didn't even find out until AFTER the entire test. . .

I have had dickweeds try and refuse to count pushups because my ankles weren't together (not required -- you can space them out somewhat).

I have watched dickweeds refuse to count pushups because they claimed the back wasn't straight enough -- when I (standing to one side) could plainly see that it was as straight as physiologically possible. Etc., etc.

'The current Army APFT is SUBJECTIVE except for the 2 mile run. If you hate the guy, you can make him fail. That's BULLSHIT.'

This is true. You can also fail the guy through absolute ignorance -- as in the assholes who don't know that 'keeping your back straight' means a straight line can be drawn that touches ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders, NOT that your spine has no curvature at all. And once you've already fucked up and had the guy waste 20 seconds and a significant amount of immediate endurance cranking out pushups to no avail - because YOU (the tester) are an idiot - it's too late to say, 'Oops, we'll give you an alibi retest.'

Yeah. I was NEVER a popular guy with the greyhounds, because I told them they were enjoying a false pride in an almost useless 'skill', and would regularly prove it by out humping them. And out-shooting them. And generally demonstrating that their fieldcraft skills were lacking.

Frankly, I'm built like a fireplug -- the only time I ever met the Army 'preferred weight standard' (which I believe was 155 pounds. . . Hell, I graduated AIT at 175) was when I was coughing up my daily blood for two weeks (we ALL were coughing up blood, but 'only pussies, faggots, and whiners go to sick call', so we got the WHOLE FUCKING UNIT SICK to prove we were 'tough enough'. . . total macho bullshit. . . ).

I didn't even 'meet the screen weight' on graduation from AIT or Drill Sergeant School. The Army has two fatboy standards -- if you meet the 'screen weight', you are assumed to be in compliance, regardless of how saggy you actually are. If you fail the screen weight, you are taped to measure body fat. ONCE, in eight years, did I NOT need to be taped -- and I once served with an older guy who climbed mountains for fun who pointed out that he had had to be taped since they introduced the idea - even though he had no problem with Ranger School. But a pencil-necked office boy with no muscle tone and a Twinkie belly will pass, because he meets his 'screen weight', and never be checked for body fat.

And I've never been a runner. Oh, I'll walk most people's asses into the ground (well, maybe not right now. . . I've been flying a desk as a civilian for a while), but I have NEVER been a good steady pace runner. (As a drill sergeant, my preferred job during PT runs was the same as my preferred position during road marches -- straggler chaser. Not the guy in the truck -- the guy who chases your stragglin' ass from the rear of the formation to your own platoon, and then goes back and grabs another straggler. You run more, and faster, but the changing pace is easier for me than the steady pace the greyhounds prefer.) Keeping the long, fast, steady, pace is even harder when the fuckin' runner setting pace has a 36" inseam and no concept of a 30" pace. After all, HE can stretch out and do 36" paces at 140 paces per minute, why can't the rest of you pussies keep up? (The manual says to place a short person of reasonable ability as your pace setter, but somehow, basketball players who were track stars in school always seem to end up there. . . )

There were only two Infantry 'skills' I was never good at -- running fast in sneakers (remember, according to the culture, 'greyhounds' are good Soldiers, so the ultimate Infantryman is a long distance runner, right?) and throwing hand grenades for accuracy. To this day, whether it's a hand grenade, a baseball, or a rock, my target area is 'yonder'. . . my idea of 'sports' growing up were quarterstaff fights, cross-country bicycling, climbing (rocks, trees, whatever) tall things, soccer, and football. None of which involve throwing small dense balls around for accuracy. . . (So much for 'Every American boy knows how to throw a baseball'. . . not if he thinks baseball is slightly less interesting than watching old people sleep.) My Drill Sergeant thought throwing grenades for accuracy past 10m was stupid ('Look, Fuckface-- first, the goddamned jungle just throws 'em right back, and second, what the fuck you think you got the grenade launcher for?'), so we got a LOT more training on nasty little things you could DO with a grenade than on how to throw one into a trashcan at 35m."

The combat-oriented APFT as described above would give focus to our training efforts and personal physical fitness. Americans love sports, and running around in thin cotton shorts, t-shirts and running shoes can be fun. But this yields us little in terms of "go-to-war" mobility that needs to be at 4-7 mph-level with useful combat load in hand if we are to be a world-class mobile infantry force that can our-maneuver irregulars on the modern non-linear battlefield.

"Speed marches gave maximum development to lungs and legs, and most importantly, to feet. In the early stages we had blisters by the bushel. Finally, though, we became hardened, and our feet were able to stand up under any kind of pounding. On one occasion during the training in speed marching, the Rangers flew across ten miles in eighty-seven minutes, flashing that long stride that was to become our trademark in the Mediterranean war."

Today's Israeli Paratroopers, and our own Darby's Rangers in WWII could go 10 miles in just 87 minutes! This is the kind of battle speed we need to deploy from aircraft, ground Armored Fighting Vehicles in order to stay outside of enemy sensor detection range yet close in fast enough to catch and destroy him by surprise. The IDF Paras practice regularly stretcher carries during PT, note the folding stretcher carried by the Paratrooper in the illustration above. We should likewise insure folding stretchers, or non-rigid types or SKEDCOs be carried by at least one Soldier in each squad, preferably the Combat LifeSaver assigned to the aid/litter team via a small M3A CLS Assault Pack.

Battle physical fitness is what we need to exploit human powered vehicles like the carts Paratroopers/Rangers used in WWII, and the bikes Yamashita used to conquer Malaya/Singapore, and the British Airborne "Cycle-Commandos" to capture Bruneval radar station.

A British Army infantry expert writes:

"If you can run 2 miles carrying a 50 pound patrol pack in under 15 minutes you are fit enought for any infantry unit in the world.

In the UK it's called the 'Fleet Foot' and it's the most demanding and useful Combat PT test I've ever come across. It should be done monthly. It's a quick simple test, but in the UK we only do it at the NCO school, as a passing in test.

Add 14 reverse grip ull ups (chin ups), and 50 non-stop press ups, and you are good to go operationally. All you need is consistent testing, and standards.

1. The British Army has shown, that if you can run 2 miles carying 50lbs in less than 16/15:30 mins you have the level of fitness to complete all the other mandated infantry tests dependant on a set time and distance (EG PARA have to do 10 miles in 2 hours, while infantry only do 8 miles).

2. Yes, you can do a 8 miler, but then you need all the admin to support it, like a safety vehicle, medic cover and a morning out of the training time.

3. Being fit is being fit. Individuals may have different levels of stamina, based on a mental attitude or the confidence associated with being physcially fit. All tests, are a mandated MINIMUM. The UK Infantry Battle School does the 2 miler because 15 years of experience and testing has shown that those with the fitness and determination to pass the test, have what it takes to get through the course.

4. Should you do long endurance marches? Hell yes, but as individual land navigation exercises. Marching a body of men 20 miles in 5 hours proves nothing. Military fitness is very simple. If you can run a certain distance, carrying a given load in a given time and perform, set numbers of pull-ups, press-ups and a few other repeatable set exercises, you are fit enough.

5. FITNESS is NOT AS IMPORTANT as self-discipline and determination. If you have not got the self discipline to keep yourself fit, then perhaps you should not be in the Army in the first place. DO NOT CONFUSE TESTING FITNESS WITH TESTING DETERMINATION AND WILL POWER. They are closely related but also distinct and seperate.

6. A lot of my work has focussed on seperating out fitness testing and identifying determination, courage and will power. The fitness part is the easy part. If you have determined men, then all your other problems go away."

1st TSG (A) member, Andrew Honer, former 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment writes:

"Pre-1979/80, the British Army APFT was commonly known as the 10 mile bash.

This was particularly reverred by the Airborne Battalions and was part of the final "P" Company period prior to RAF Abingdon for Para training.

The bash consisted of a 10 mile timed speed march in full battle order including weapon, helmet, bergen, simulated ammunition weight and other equipment. The failure rate, was in relation to physical drop out was kept to a minimum from the constant ' beasting ', ie: physical assault from Platoon NCO's and Physical Training Instructors.

In 1979/80, this practice became unused, rumoured to have been stopped by the MoD, exact initiation of this action unknown, and was replaced by a 3 mile timed run/walk in little more than t-shirt, Dennims and boots. As expected the pass rate was 100%.

The Parachute Regiment however realising the need to produce battle ready troops, adhered to the cancellation on the Bash, though instilled a 50 mile overnight march, for us this was an overnight exercise through the streets and forests of former West Berlin.

Although I was not in the Atlantic Campaign, the Falklands although providing difficult conditions, taking into account the terrain, lack of transport, logistics and the distances to be travelled, the men I know would not have been able to succeed under those conditions without adequate battle orientated training, a success, though marred by few fatalities, would have not have been achieved without preparation during and after training."

BURSTS OF SPEED: JOGGING DOESN'T GIVE IT

1st TSG (A) S2 Emery Nelson writes:

All physical fitness should be task specific. The problem with running (jogging is more like it) is it teaches you to run slow. The concept of speed marching teaches you to walk fast. Which has the more desired effect in combat. What I'm getting at is your muscles are being trained for a specific activity. Jogging is good for teaching a specific kind of endurance like steady movement but when you have to kick it up a gear (like when you are under fire) it is very hard to do. What is more likely to happen is you will crouch and jog. In combat it's inevitable that you will need a burst of speed to avoid being exposed to fire or move to cover under aimed fire. The speed marching concept is better than jogging, no question. It can be used to successfully move forces over large chunks of terrain and still remain alert to your surroundings, very necessary in combat conditions. It is teaching your muscles to move faster than the usual march speed. This is more muscle memory stuff which you're probably tired of but I don't know how else to explain it.

Now examine what happens when you make contact from a jog. One of the most important aspects of foot speed is your ability to pick up your feet quickly so you can marshall the quadriceps and hamstring muscles which push your feet down and back which propels you forward. These two muscles groups (hamstring and quads with a lot of help from your gluteus) are the most explosive in your body. You would think that someone with extremely strong thighs would be fast but this isn't true. In order to make your thigh muscles work at their maximum you have to you have to be able to bring your knees up to at least waist high and higher is better. The slower you lift your knees up the longer the it takes to push down with your thighs. You can only go as fast as the up down motion will allow. A person can have tremendous thigh strength (the push cycle) but be totally unable to pick your knees up (the pull cycle) and the result will be slow speed. That's basic stuff that I may not be making totally clear but I can recommend some books if you are really interested.

The muscles that pick up your knee is the Hip Flexor. These are the thin band of muscles that run down the front of the hip from your Abs to the quads. They are not very strong but they are extremely explosive. The problem with jogging is it fatigues the hip flexor severely and does something called short stroking. This is where the muscle does not work through the full range of motion and is constantly fatigued in the partial range. What this means is when you have to run suddenly after jogging for a long time you cannot pick up your knees. The result is slow foot speed and possibly the ultimate sacrifice.

Speed marching is a much better in the sense that you save your legs from the pounding and the fatigue in your hip flexors. It also allows your legs to functions in a more natural manner. This means efficiency which translate into saved energy and more importantly the ability to turn on the speed when it's necessary. Speed marching is definitely tiring but it works the strongest and biggest muscle groups (the thighs) and not one of the weakest ( hip flexor ) which you could need at a moment's notice.

Ok, we want the speed march as part of the APFT. But, lets add some other extremely important dimensions like running explosion. This means your ability to sprint. This doesn't mean your 40 yard dash time, it means your ability to run under stress for a given period of time. For example, you have 5 minutes to run ten 100 yard dashes (in combat equipment, weapon, web gear etc. ). You would have to run each, hundred yard dash in thirty seconds each. these are timed sprints. If you don't believe it's tough enough you can make the time per sprint less.

It works like this. You get thirty seconds to run each sprint. The faster you run the sprint the more rest you get between sprints. This encourages everyone to run their fastest. There is only about a second and a half difference between your slowest and your fastest Soldiers so speed isn't a big factor. You can drop it down to twenty-five seconds and you see that it gets very difficult. Do this after you have the speed march and you will be on your way to some real combat fitness.

The next little drill is the upper body test. Many people can do fifty push ups but lets make it under real conditions. After the speed march and sprint test we go to a sand pit. It should be thirty meters long. You have the Soldiers sprint the thirty yards and do as many push-ups as possible in fifteen seconds. Do that three or four times and then move on to pull-ups and Abs of some kind. I don't know what the standards should be but you can try it and get a base line pretty fast. I would love to see you pick a couple of young studs who think there in shape and see what they can do. I think you'll be amazed.

The point is that no one walks or jogs into war with no equipment and without using many different types of fitness, aerobic, anaerobic, and a combination of the two with the whole body. In most cases an Infantrymen usually has to work hard to get to an objective with all his equipment and them needs a burst of energy to assault it. It can also work the other way as Col. Bernard has written about. You may have to run for your life with all your gear and wounded at a much higher speed than a jog.

COMBAT PT TRAINING

No U.S. Army Soldier should ever spend 1 second ever again on sports PT in running shoes, shorts, t-shirt for an egofest of middle-aged men trying to show how they are not getting old so everyone gets bad feet, ankles, knees running on pavement to underwrite someone's mid-life crisis (standard XVIII Airborne Corps SOP). Instead of running around in shorts we could do PT in the actual BDU uniform and LBE that we will use in combat.

In case you cannot figure out combat relevant PT tasks to do instead here are some ideas:

1. rifle-bayonet fighting drills
2. rifle-bayonet assault course
3. unarmed combat drills
4. combat with an e-tool drills
5. dig a fighting position with overhead cover
6. combat load a M113 Gavin track
7. cover a Gavin with a camouflage net and dig it in by hand to create a hull-down position (if dozer blade not available)
8. fill SOA or Hesco concertainers by hand and build a wall FAST for time
9. charge all the batteries in a squad via a hand crank as fast as possible
10. push a Humvee, Gavin with a dead engine--determine how many men needed to do it etc.
11. Stretcher carry road march
12. SKEDCO drag road march
13. All-Terrain Cart/Sled tow of a casualty road march
14. Speed march with ruck on back for time with simulated OPFOR with paintball guns harassing and forcing unit to employ fire & movement IMT drills
15. Speed march with ruck on wheels being towed

While ruck marching for time:

*Carry a stretcher with a designated Soldier on it and rotate during the march use rigid and non-rigid litters
*Carry 5 gallon water cans
*Push a HMMWV simulating a disabled vehicle
*Sandbag vehicles for technical skill/upper body strength
*Tow a 120mm Heavy Mortar a distance (U.S. Army Ranger 3-man squad towed a 716 pound mortar for 30 miles re: The Discovery Channel documentary "American Commandos" 1-800-765-0066 $19.95)
*Carry weapons at the ready during a speed march, stop and engage targets with MILES. Paint ball and silhouettes or live fire
*Obstacle courses *Assembly-Disassembly of weapons EIB-style after a speed march or "Battle run"

16. "Oh shit! drill. Rapidly remove all gear from disabled Gavin track and ruck march a set distance
17. NASCAR drills:

a. a track has broken go fix it (short track) as fast and as safely as possible b. replace a roadwheel c. remove tracks and get into tow bar or tow cable configuration

18. Battle runs with just "fighting load": LBE (LC-2, ETLBV, TLBV etc), weapon, helmet

The point of all of this is to get better Soldier performance while in combat fighting order of SPECIFIC, NECESSARY TASKS.

How Serious is the sports PT problem in the U.S. Military?

1. It wastes the first half of every duty day
2. It puts the rest of the day is a listless sluggish stupor
3. It creates AN ILLUSION THAT COMBAT TRAINING TAKES PLACE SO THE NARCISSISTIC NON-COMBAT PHONIES CAN STAY IN POWER

Let's face it.

The U.S. Army/marines are populated by egomaniacs who do not give a fuck about warfighting things. The sports PT in t-shirt, shorts, running shoes gives them a WAY to APPEAR to be doing combat training when really its JUST SO THEY CAN LOOK GOOD, a vanity. Its no different than going to a health club for them.

They don't give a fuck about what a RPG can do or not do, nor do they care about how well you shoot.

In a nutshell THE MORNING SPORTS PT FALSADE KEEPS THE PHONY GARRISON U.S. MILITARY INTACT.

You could say, "how well you shoot is more important than how well you sports run".

Not so says the garrison phony.

"you cannot shoot everyday so when the Soldier fails on annual rifle qual there's no stigma, just put him back in to shoot again."

What that creates however is MEDIOCRITY--exactly what the garrison phony wants.

That garrison phony DOES NOT WANT COMBAT THINGS TO BE THE DAILY FOCUS. He wants the weapons permanently locked in the arms room, its not "his thing" he's good at.

Guess what?

The TRUTH is that EVERY GODDAM DAY THOSE WEAPONS SHOULD BE UNLOCKED AND EVERY SOLDIER CARRYING THEM IF FOR NOTHING ELSE TO IMPROVE WEAPONS HANDLING SKILLS SO THEY ARE SECOND NATURE.

FYI there are dry firing drills that can be done WITHOUT AMMUNITION. The Army and marines DO NOT WANT TO BE COMBAT FOCUSED!

Everyone should read Dixon's book, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence. These are weak people who are full of anxieties about themselves and life who want an easy lifestyle of conformity, not the kick-ass lions America needs to prevail in 4th Generation Wars.

What physical training program prepares your unit for combat? In combat, different types of units have different missions. The physical demands required to complete those missions will vary between units. Leaders must prepare their soldiers for combat by tailoring their physical training programs to meet the challenges they expect their unit to encounter in battle.

One way to do this is by developing a battle-focused physical training (BFPT) program. There are six steps involved in developing a BFPT program.

Step 1. Determine individual tasks that support your unit METL (mission-essential task list).

• Using the appropriate ARTEP-MTP, break down Mission-Essential Tasks into a collective task list.
• Determine the individual tasks which support those collective tasks and any other physical requirements those collective tasks may require.
• List only the individual tasks which require a component of physical fitness to accomplish.
• If no appropriate MTP manual exists, commanders, first sergeants, and master fitness trainers (MFTs) must determine the individual physical skills required to accomplish the task.

Step 2. Determine physical requirements of each task.

• Commander, 1SGs and MFTs list what a Soldier must do physically to accomplish each individual task.
• No limit to the number or type of activities a Soldier must perform.
• Standardize the description of similar activities, when possible.

Step 3. Determine exercises which develop those requirements.

• Determine which training activities and exercise best develop and improve the components of fitness specific goals.
• Commanders, 1SGs, and MFTs determine most feasible and realistic training activities and exercises for their unit.
• Compile a master list of all required training activities and exercises along with the desired frequency, intensity, and time.

Step 4. Determine secondary benefits and resource requirements of these activities.

• Secondary benefits can include:

  Development of Soldier skills.
  Motor fitness components.
  Mental toughness.
  Esprit de Corps.

• Tasks can be designed to accomplish a specific secondary benefit:

  Litter relays prepare units for real-world casualty evacuation.
  Flak-vest runs condition Soldiers to work more confidently in their equipment.

• This intangible aspect of physical training may be the most important one. When under stress during combat, it's what happens in the soldier's head and heart that enables him to accomplish the mission.

Step 5. Develop mission/METL-based evaluation criteria.

• Critical for program success.
• Designate realistic events and standards which provide the commander an evaluation of unit's physical readiness to accomplish its combat mission.
• Set challenging standards according to mission/METL.
• Bottom line: If your Soldiers can accomplish tasks to standard, they are physically prepared for combat.

Step 6. Develop a physical training plan which accomplishes unit goals.

• MFTs, 1SGs, and commanders develop unit physical training plan.
• Make physical training a unit priority.
• Program includes all components of physical fitness and is designed to follow the seven principles of exercise (FM 21-20, Chap. 1).
• Field physical training, when not in a tactical environment, is a must to accomplish these goals.
• This is a leadership responsibility. Our soldiers expect to be challenged every day.

To better understand BFPT program development, an example follows. For brevity, only one METL task will be analyzed. When developing your unit physical training program, all METL tasks should be used during the program development. As an example, let's assume that the unit in which we are designing a BFPT program is a light infantry unit with the following METL:

Movement to contact/hasty attack

Conduct raid

Defend

Conduct military operations in urbanized terrain (MOUT)

Attack

Developing a BFPT program for the METL task: Conduct Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) might look like this.

Step 1 - Determine the individual tasks which support unit METL.

Transport casualty using one- or two-man carry, or improvised litter carry.

Step 2 - Determine physical requirements of each task.

INDIVIDUAL TASK/INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENT OF COLLECTIVE TASK	PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
React to indirect fire while dismounted	Run long distances near maximum speed with all equipment over all types of terrain
Perform movement techniques during MOUT	Balance, sprint with all equipment, jump, climb up and into windows, climb over walls, ladders, pull soldiers up into windows, throw grappling hooks, lift Soldiers up into windows, low-crawl, high-crawl, climb stairs, climb ropes
Transport casualty using one-or two-man carry, or improvised litter carry	Lift heavy weight without assistance, get casualty into appropriate carrying position, carry heavy weight for extended periods of time, lift heavy weight over obstacles, grip strength endurance, move carrying heavy weight over all types of terrain.

Step 3 - Determine exercises which develop those requirements.

INDIVIDUAL TASK/INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENT OF COLLECTIVE TASK	PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS	EXERCISES WHICH DEVELOP THOSE REQUIREMENTS
React to indirect fire while dismounted	Run long distances near maximum speed with all equipment over all types of terrain	Wind sprints while wearing LCE, Flak-vest runs, terrain runs, last man up runs while wearing equipment
Perform movement techniques during MOUT	Balance, sprint with all equipment, jump, climb up and into windows, climb over walls, pull soldiers up into windows, throw grappling hooks, lift soldiers up into windows, low-crawl, high-crawl, climb stairs, climb ropes	Obstacle courses, rope climbing, chinups, pullups, stair climbing, nautilus, pushups, dips, abdominal training, free weights
Transport casualty using one-or two-man carry, or improvised litter carry	Lift heavy weight without assistance, get casualty into appropriate carrying position, carry heavy weight for extended periods of time, lift heavy weight over obstacles, grip strength endurance, move carrying heavy weight over all types of terrain.	Litter relays, CASEVAC relays, obstacle courses, low-back strength/endurance training, rope climbing, chinups, nautilus, sandbag/water can circuit, stretcher runs, improvised litter relays, guerrilla drills

Step 4 - Determine secondary benefits and resource requirements of these activities.

INDIVIDUAL TASK/INDIVIDUAL REQUIREMENT OF COLLECTIVE TASK	PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS	EXERCISES WHICH DEVELOP THOSE REQUIREMENTS	SECONDARY BENEFITS	RESOURCES
React to indirect fire while dismounted	Run long distances near maximum speed with all equipment over all types of terrain	Wind sprints while wearing LCE, Flak-vest runs, terrain runs, last man up runs while wearing equipment	Work while wearing flak-vest, familiarity with different types of terrain, leader inspection of equipment, comfort of LCE and other equipment	Individual equipment, flak vest, uniform of choice (PT or BDU)
Perform movement techniques during MOUT	Balance, sprint with all equipment, jump, climb up and into windows, climb over walls, pull soldiers up into windows, throw grappling hooks, lift soldiers up into windows, low-crawl, high-crawl, climb stairs, climb ropes	Obstacle courses, rope climbing, chinups, pullups, stair climbing, nautilus, pushups, dips, abdominal training, free weights	Learn to throw grappling hooks, develop confidence at heights, cohesion, teamwork	Obstacle course with all installation requirements, grappling hooks, MOUT site or building, rope stand, chinup bar, stair/stair climber, nautilus, free weights
Transport casualty using one- or two-man carry, or improvised litter carry	Lift heavy weight without assistance, get casualty into appropriate carrying position, carry heavy weight for extended periods of time, lift heavy weight over obstacles, grip strength endurance, move carrying heavy weight over all types of terrain.	Litter relays, CASEVAC relays, obstacle courses, low-back strength/ endurance training, rope climbing, chinups, nautilus, sandbag/water can circuit, stretcher runs, improvised litter relays, guerrilla drills	CASEVAC training, first aid training, confidence in evacuation system, 9-line MEDEVAC training, unit cohesion, identify potential combat lifesavers	Obstacle course with all installation requirements, rigid and poleless litters, improvised litters, sandbags, water cans, nautilus circuit, free weights, rope stand, chinup bar

Step 5 - Develop Mission-Based, Unit Evaluation Criteria.

EVENT	MINIMUM STANDARD	FREQUENCY EVALUATED	RESOURCES/TEST SITE/DETAILS
Obstacle Course	30 Minutes	Quarterly	Resources: Main post obstacle course, ambulance, medic, water, stopwatch (2), scorecard, eight evaluators Specific Requirements: Each soldier must attempt each obstacle; failure to complete obstacle to standard constitutes 3-minute time penalty, 185-pound dummies will be carried using designated CASEVAC carry between selected obstacles, two 40-pound water cans will be carried (one in each hand to simulate a litter between selected obstacles)

Step 6 - Develop Physical Training Plan which accomplishes goals.

The first part of step six is to transfer selected exercises into the "FITT" chart listed below. A unit's master fitness trainer can identify which component of fitness the selected exercises from Step 3 address. All of these exercises are then transferred to the chart under the appropriate component.

CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE	MUSCULAR STRENGTH	MUSCULAR ENDURANCE	MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND MUSCULAR ENDURANCE	FLEXIBILITY
Frequency 3-5 times/week	3 times/week	3-5 times/week	3 times/week	Warm up/cool down Stretch before and after activity Developmental - 2-3 times/week
Intensity 70-90% max heart rate	3-7 rep max	12+ rep max	8-12 rep max	Tension, not pain
Time 20 minutes or more	Time required to do 3-7 reps of each exercise	Time required to do 12+ reps of each exercise	Time required to do 8-12 reps of each exercise	Warm up/cool down Stretching 10-15 seconds. Stretch development 30 - 60 seconds/stretch
Type Wind sprints, flak-vest runs, terrain runs, last man up runs, obstacle course, stairs, intervals, litter relays, circuit training, stretcher run, guerrilla drills	Nautilus, sandbag circuit, low-back strength training, stretcher run	Wind sprints, flak-vest runs, last man up runs wearing equipment, rope climbing, chinups, pullups, stairs, intervals, litter/CASEVAC relays, dips, abdominal training, pushups, guerrilla drills	Nautilus, sandbag circuit, low-back strength and endurance training, stretcher run	Stretching static passive PNF

The final part of step 6 is to develop the actual physical training plan. The plan should be based on the commander's current assessment of the unit's physical fitness. The commander, 1SG and MFT should determine the balance between cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, and muscular strength training required to accomplish the established goals. Using the frequency principles reflected in the "FITT" chart, commanders can plan physical training for the unit. An example of a BFPT program based on the analysis of the one METL task may look like the sample calendar below.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Week 1	Nautilus circuit Chinup/lower back workout	3-mile terrain run Wind sprints with equipment 6 x 60 yards	Obstacle course Developmental stretch	PRE circuit Rope climb Pushup/dip	5-mile run with LCE Developmental stretch
Week 2	Sandbag circuit Stair/rope climb	Interval training Developmental stretch	Litter/ CASEVAC relay race	Nautilus circuit Chinup/Pushups/dips	3-mile last man up run Developmental stretch
Week 3	Obstacle course Developmental stretch	Nautilus circuit Chinup	4-mile fartlek run Developmental stretch	3-mile stretcher run	Sandbag circuit
Week 4	PRE circuit Pushup/chinup/dip	3.5-mile terrain run Wind sprints with equipment 8 x 60 yards	6-mile run with LCE Developmental stretch	Nautilus circuit Rope climb	Grass/guerrilla drill Developmental stretch

Many Army schools emphasize the APFT. Commanders who use the BFPT program should not be concerned about Soldiers passing the APFT because a properly designed BFPT program prepares Soldiers for the APFT and, more importantly, prepares units for combat.

FEEDBACK: SOLDIERS FOR THE TRUTH NEWSLETTER ON OBESITY IN THE U.S. MILITARY

(1.) Congratulations on the article on weight/obesity. It's about time someone recognized the problem. At 6' 1", as a teenager, I never weighed more than 175. The day I joined the Army in 1951, I weighed 171. Sixteen weeks later, coming out of basic training, I weighed 205. Still, about half of my basic company lost weight, so something was done right.

I recall bitterly saying goodbye in 1978 to one of the best SFCs(Sergeant First Class) I've ever seen because he couldn't make the weight back in the days when there was no pinch tests, etc. It certainly didn't effect his performance. Shortly before my retirement in 1982, I had a Master Sergeant working for me who was built along the lines of a bear; always on the fat-boy program; and never looked too good in his uniform. But he won the Medal of Honor with the Big Red One in May of 1969 in Vietnam. His size didn't keep him from being one hell of a Soldier when it counted.

(I inadvertently left out the name of the "Big Red One" Medal of Honor winner I told about. His name was Jim Bondsteel. After he left my unit, he went to Alaska. He hadn't been there long and was driving across a two-lane bridge and was meeting a huge logging truck pulling a double trailer. The second, four-wheel, trailer broke loose and hit Jim head on, killing instantly. That must have been 1986 or so. Isn't that a hell of a note?)

I work at Fort Sam Houston, home of the military's medical programs. Since the PT test stopped including anything but pushups, sit-ups, and the two mile run, I've never seen a single Soldier doing anything but those three. As one Army doctor remarked to me, "We're building an Army of bird bodies who can run 10K in shorts and Adidas, but couldn't put on BDUs, kevlar, weapon and a full field pack and carry it all day up and down hills if their lives depended on it". Which it well might. From my experience in Korean and Vietnam Wars, it's the guys with the fullback builds who were first up the hills and still going at the end of the day. I couldn't make the weight in today's Army, but I think I was a pretty darned good Soldier and, even though overweight by today's standards, it didn't stop me from going to two Asian wars.

(Anonymous)
-----------------------------
BONDSTEEL, JAMES LEROY

Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company "A", 2d Battalion, 2d Infantry,1st Infantry Division.

Place and date: An Loc Province, Republic of Vietnam, 24 May 1969.
Entered service at: Detroit, Mich.
Born: 18 July 1947, Jackson, Mich.

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. SSG Bondsteel distinguished himself while serving as a platoon sergeant with Company "A", near the village of Lang Sau. Company "A" was directed to assist a friendly unit which was endangered by intense fire from a North Vietnamese Battalion located in a heavily fortified base camp. SSG Bondsteel quickly organized the men of his platoon into effective combat teams and spearheaded the attack by destroying 4 enemy occupied bunkers. He then raced some 200 meters under heavy enemy fire to reach an adjoining platoon which had begun to falter. After rallying this unit and assisting their wounded, SSG Bondsteel returned to his own sector with critically needed munitions. Without pausing he moved to the forefront and destroyed 4 enemy occupied bunkers and a machinegun which had threatened his advancing platoon. Although painfully wounded by an enemy grenade, SSG Bondsteel refused medical attention and continued his assault by neutralizing 2 more enemy bunkers nearby. While searching one of these emplacements SSG Bondsteel narrowly escaped death when an enemy Soldier detonated a grenade at close range. Shortly thereafter, he ran to the aid of a severely wounded officer and struck down an enemy Soldier who was threatening the officer's life. SSG Bondsteel then continued to rally his men and led them through the entrenched enemy until his company was relieved. His exemplary leadership and great personal courage throughout the 4-hour battle ensured the success of his own and nearby units, and resulted in the saving of numerous lives of his fellow Soldiers. By individual acts of bravery he destroyed 10 enemy bunkers and accounted for a large toll of the enemy, including 2 key enemy commanders. His extraordinary heroism at the risk of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army. ----------------------------------------------------------

(2.) I am an Army Lieutenant and concerning overweight Soldiers I have a somewhat unique perspective. I am constantly watching my weight. In High School I was a competition power lifter. I weighed 300 and could crush most people twice my age. But now I am 200, 5 pounds within my limit. Close but that's as good as it gets. And you are right that fast, lightweight Soldiers are not necessary more fit. When I had to take the dreaded tape test my final time as a cadet I had come within 1 percent of not passing, but you know what? My APFT score was 280, my run time was 12:30. How do you explain it? Also my ruck at any given time would weigh 120 pounds. Usually carrying crap that the little people couldn't.

Definitely, the Army needs to rethink its policy on weight. Maybe increase the APFT minimum to say 200 instead of 180 and ease up on the weight. Encourage Soldiers to put on some muscle at the gym. Right now very few use weights and many use the stationary bikes, tread mills, or aerobics. Force them to get in shape. I suspect that if there is more of an emphasis on the APFT itself that the overweight will fall into place.

Physical Fitness is a Soldier responsibility. How come? Why is it not a commander's responsibility or the Platoon Leader's? It is but if a Soldier doesn't pass his/her APFT no one wants to hear that for the last six months this Soldier has been in the motor pool busting his/her knuckles from 0500 to 2300 every day, trying to improve the unit readiness. Leaders always can cut out for a couple of hours to run or workout, but not Soldiers. This idea needs to change. PT should be a time where it is hands off. If we are going to hold them to this standard we better make them pass it. PT is the only standard in the Army where we place all the responsibility for success or failure is on the Soldier alone."

(By An Army Lt.)

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"I've seen people in very good condition fail in athletic competition because they were not conditioned sport specifically. I know a man who ran a 4:10 mile, squatted 500+, and benched 340, but was too tired to continue after going through the first twenty minutes of high school wrestling practice. I've been in similar condition and literally couldn't jump anymore after playing full court basketball for a similar amount of time. Your body is like an old mule in that it adapts to the conditions it has to operate under and becomes just efficient enough to accomplish the tasks given to it. You can be good at running the mile and lifting weights but your not good at playing basketball or wrestling. That's why sport specific training has become so popular. you must train for the event you plan to participate in. If you don't actually imitate trying to read a map and communicate from a vehicle moving off road, physical training of all kinds won't prepare you.

Being in good condition isn't enough. When your adrenalin starts flowing and you are trying to do physical movement that you haven't practiced, your body works twice as hard trying to do these tasks. That's why muscle memory is imperative for teaching you to do a task effectively. The more time your mind has to spent accomplishing physical tasks, the less time is robbed from doing the simplest of thinking processes. That's why it's critical that you practice all mental tasks under the physical stress that you will be performing them under. If you prepare for the physical and the mental separately, you will fail in both when you pair them.

I've been thinking about how I'd train somebody to prepare for the EIB (stay with me, I'm getting to the subject). This is just an example, but take the claymore or mine section. I'd have the you assemble and disassemble the mine 500 times in the prescribed manor. Them I'd move on too teaching you to it under physical and mental stress. I'd set up a course at least 100 meters long. I'd set you down on one end and have you assemble and disassemble the mines under time limits, two or three times. Then I'd start adding some "proper stress" to increase the difficulty. I'd have you do ten pushups and ten sit ups, sprint 100 meters under twelve seconds, immediately do another ten pushups and sit ups, jump up and sprint another 100 meters under twelve seconds and go immediately back to the assembly and disassembly of the mines under under time pressure. Repeat this process to human failure (which won't take too long).

If you did this with men of different ages but similar fitness levels, you'd notice an earlier failure rate with older men in the initial days of training. After doing this for a week or so you'd see virtually no difference. Everyone would have adapted to the new levels of stress and they would overcome the problem. It's a fact that as you age, you don't adapt as quickly as someone younger. I don't think anyone actually knows why at this juncture (saying you're just getting old is bullshit that doesn't tell us anything specifically) but it's a fact.

One of the theories that make the most sense (at least to me) is that the older you get the less you do physically, because you've become more efficient in your duties (usually you have other people do it for you). Maybe you keep in shape but you don't perform the physical tasks that most younger people do regularly. Maybe you even train other people how to do it, but you don't do it yourself under field conditions very often, and that's what make you proficient (efficient).

Men like Patton and Rommel were continually practicing the skills they needed to command-on-the-move. This gave them a mastery over their opponents that is always referred to as brilliant. I don't see the brilliance at all (particularly in Patton's case). They simply did everything more efficiently. This translates into less effort and greater speed then their enemies. Both of these men worked on staying mentally and physically connected. Rommel even performed maintenance on tanks during the German invasion of France, And Patton played Polo well into his fifties and fought on the move from a staff car during the famous mobile warfare experiments in 1939. There opponents could not match their flexibility.

If our field grades, don't practice leadership under the physically and mentally stressful conditions in training they will not succeed in doing it in under fire. They need to get into a tank or 577 and practice commanding-on-the-move if they ever hope to do for real."

Emery Nelson
Soldier and football coach

In the Spring 2002 issue of U.S. Army Infantry magazine, a retired infantry Major writes:

LONG DISTANCE MARCHING

"I was very interested in the World War II article on 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell and his walk out of Burma (Infantry, May-August 2000).

There is a clear lesson to be learned from this account: The most necessary exercise is long-distance marching. In my view, they ought to scrap the current PT test (pushups, situps, run) for a four-mile march with a standard uniform and weapon.

This would have two immediate re-sults:

First, it would do away with the perception of 'gender norming.'

True or not, the charge remains because of the different standards for men and women. All Soldiers should have to complete the march in the same passing time. If my memory serves me correctly, a forced-march pace is historically four miles in 50 minutes. If a Soldier can't do that, he or she does not belong in any service!

The second effect of this reform would be to give loyal commanders more flexibility to implement their own PT programs. Right now, most units do the same thing every day-pushups, situps, and run-because that's what's on the PT test. This new PT test requires no special training or facilities; just ramp up the marching one month out from the test.

Finally, while we're at it, let's do away with the photo for the promotion boards-and the weight control program!

If you can pass the PT test, who cares what you look like?

Good walking!"

WILLIAM M. SHAW
MAJ, U.S. Army, Retired
Roswell, New Mexico

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MORE FEEDBACK!

itsg@hotmail.com

An USAF MSGT writes:

"Might be worth experimenting with the "sports PT" heart rate monitors during combat PT.

Reason?

Speed marches, etc are also aerobic and the output is measurable!

If aerobic activity is being pushed from above for whatever reason you can cite this and even use the data to determine the load on your people for various tasks.

Now, since one objective of changing how you have people do stuff is to make them more efficient users of their energy/food/water, you have objective data to support change.

Private Snuffy is overloaded while performing task, heart rate goes through the roof, calorie expenditure ditto. Instead of observation and anecdote you have data.

Private Snuffy performs task differently and or with different equipment load. Heart rate and calorie expenditure drop, proving reduced physiological load.

Feed data to your local PowerPoint Guru, he/she packages it into a dead-sexy presentation, and viola! :)

My suggestion is that while it is probably impossible to unseat the 'sports PT' mind set wether we individually would have it so or not, it may be practical salesmanship for 'task PT' (or any other different PT) to use monitoring equipment for feedback.

Salesmanship has to be integrated with proposed reforms or they ain't gonna happen, and not all customers respond well to confrontation." An Army Paratrooper writes:

"2 miles in 15 mins with 50lb ruck..lets see, that would be about 7.5 minute miles and...HOLY CRAP! Perhaps a little excessive for Army wide standard. Would be great for certain units and as a pre-rec for NCO rank maybe. There is a point to Mike's diatribe about sports PT however, in that we only train to pass the test, and on many road marches I have had to carry the ruck of the High scorer on the 2-mile run while I can't do 2 miles in under 15 mins with NO ruck on my back (OK, I can, but not by very much damn it). I also think there is point to Mikes suggestion (Via his webpage) that as big a force multiplier as physical fitness is, that it SHOULD be the commander's responsibility, not the individuals. I would love to see a Go/NoGo test based on a ruck march, rope climb and dummy drag. If you can pass these, your fit eneough to perform most to all grunt missions."

1st TSG (A) REPLY:

Ruck march + SKEDCO dummy drag + Rope Climb =OUTSTANDING IDEA!

Either you drag the dummy and cross the finish line or you don't. Either you reach top of the thing holding the rope or you don't.

No subjectivity for the assholes!

The British Army expert writes:

"You can change the time for the run, to 16 mins or 15:30. That's the balance between having a standard that's useful and one that's prohibitive. I'd be happy with anyone that could do it in 16 mins.

I'd probably also want them to do 24 miles X-country/trail march, with 50lbs in <10 hours, but that's more to do with testing their feet and personal administration.

If they can do 40-50 press up (Non-stop, or in under 90 seconds ) and 12-14 reverse grip pull ups (chin ups), then I don't have to worry about their fitness and I concentrate on other things in the training schedule."

1st TSG (A) REPLY:

WE LIKE THE EVENT. RUNNING WITH A 50 POUND RUCK WITH RIFLE IN HAND.

WE DO NOT THINK ITS SHOULD BE PASS/FAIL AT 16 MINUTES.

Under 16 minutes should be the goal and gets you a score of "100" points. More time taken decreases the score.

The POINT is to get the entire U.S. Army doing THIS by speed marching or running instead of BS sports PT.

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Private Murphy's View

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