Posted on 03/05/2016 11:56:46 AM PST by Olog-hai
The Navy is giving another chance to thousands of sailors who otherwise would be kicked out for repeatedly failing their physical fitness tests because they exceeded body fat limits.
The service branch loosened its body fat restrictions in January and is allowing those who failed their exams three or more times to get one more opportunity to be tested this spring under the more lenient guidelines. The Navy said it has been losing too many talented sailors. Some were resorting to liposuction, diet pills and other measures to save their careers.
The Navy allowed about 2,400 sailors who passed a preliminary test under the new rules to stay in, reducing the number of failures on their records from three to one, said Navy spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen. In the past, three failures were grounds for being kicked out. The sailors will be measured again this spring and allowed only two failures now instead of three. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
They’re losing all their computer programmers.
Doesn’t fat float better when the ship goes down?
Has no one made the link between diminished play times and activity times for students with increased body mass upon time of graduation? Kids should be able to move around frequently during the day, and for many good reasons.
“Some were resorting to liposuction, diet pills and other measures to save their careers.”
perhaps they should try running, lifting and eating fewer doughnuts....
I think physical fitness tests ought to test relevant physical fitness. That’s done by action, not body measurement. You can be skinny without being “fit” in the slightest.
Jimmy Carter let them have beards. Come to think of it...so does Obama.
You beat me to it.
The Navy allowed about 2,400 sailors who passed a preliminary test under the new rules to stay in, reducing the number of failures on their records from three to one, said Navy spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen.
...
My guess is the old tests were getting too many women and other protected classes kicked out.
If they’re able to do what they’re there to do and pass all the fitness tests without those tests being dumbed down to admit them, then what’s the problem? Some people naturally carry more body fat, some don’t. If they want to be there and are doing what needs to be done, some arbitrary standard percentage starts sounding a lot like snobbery.
The way the article read to me, it was body fat only.
The navy doesn't give sailors time to exercise and navy chow isn't exactly healthy (but it's cheap).
If you think we get up at 0400 to PT, well, that's the old navy. Today we have to get up at 0400 to work on our qualifications; 100 item PQSs with triple observed skill repetitions just to operate an overhead crane or turn on a power cart. And when we're done with that, we have to go to our mandatory quarterly GMT where we spend 4 hours being told not to rape our shipmates or commit suicide. After that, it's time to go volunteer at a food bank because volunteer hours on our evals is the only way we'll make rank.
Little wonder we're all getting fat.
Physical fitness, back when I was in the Army, had nothing to do with being able to function as a Soldier.
Somebody at the Pentagon decided that the Army needed to look at physical fitness. They sent a memo to all the commanders asking for their input.
I wrote back and told them to interview combat veterans from around the world and get their opinions on what level of fitness was necessary to be an effective Soldier.
Here is how the Army made the decision on changing from the 5 event pt test to the 3 event pt test.
“What’s the cheapest thing we can do and still have a means to kick people out?”
Yep. The 3 event pt test was brought in because it was cheap. You just need some grass and two miles of road.
When the Army started deploying people to Kuwait for DESERT STORM, the people who failed the pt test and/or the height/weight standard were still deployed to Kuwait and fought in the war.
There were no pre-deployment pt tests or weigh ins.
Everybody went. To combat.
The real purpose of the pt test and height/weight screening is to provide the military with an easy way to kick people out of the military.
If they needed to reduce the number of Soldiers in the Army, they would reduce the time allowed to run two miles in the pt test.
This has left us an Army of cross country runners who can’t win wars.
Navy chow has always enjoyed a better reputation than that of the other services. Mr. Cause, meet Mr. Effect.
Sure, so what’s next for the Navy, expanded bunks, reconstructing hall ways, door ways, chairs, toilets, showers, etc. or get sued by all of the fat girls and chubby guys for making them feel “uncomfortable” and affecting their “self esteem?”
Jimmy Carter hadn’t even been elected governor when Admiral Zumwalt “let them have beards”. I was proud to serve under him.
Correction. Carter HAD been elected governor.
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