• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

NEWS RIP Beards and thiccbois

Spekkio

He bowls overhand.
I come so close to the tape it’s not worth the risk if I’m bloated that day. But sure, I’m not an anorexic runner so clearly I have no place in the Navy.
Look, let's strip away the silly attributional language that no one is saying.

If you can't make weight and you can't pass the abdominal circumference tape test and you can't pass the bodyfat tape test, then you are statistically a readiness risk to the Navy by proven scientific research. Fat, skinny, or inbetween.

When you make posts like this, you're like a smoker who says "I smoke two packs a day and I'm fine, I don't know what you're talking about that I can get cancer."

Our standards are well below typical firefighter standards, which is the "design limit" of our profession.

And to quote an experienced infantry officer: "the people who can max the run also tend to be the same people who can carry my ass to cover. And the burly soldiers who can lift a lot typically become a liability."
 
Last edited:

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
The goal here is to ensure people remain medically ready and don't become walking VA disability claims while in active service.

I agree that this should be the goal.

But I don't think we support people in meeting that goal. Instead, we make it 100% up to the individual to accomplish, and when they struggle, or fail, we boot them. We test people in ways that don't provide real feedback.

If fitness was truly more than a force shaping tool we'd dedicate time and resources to ensure everyone would meet the standard- much like competitive sports teams do. Everyone would have nutrition and fitness programs, and would be given 8 hours a week of on duty time to ensure they meet their goals. A competitive sports team doesn't expect their athletes to do the work on their own.

At 42 years old I still keep up with D1 college and minor professional hockey players half my age on the ice. (Though these young kids seem to get a little faster every year). Yet high impact cardio, like running, exacerbates my lower back problems- and if I do it too much I go hard down for a few days. Running 1.5 miles, or x amount of shuttles in Y time, or pushups to situps or planks doesn't portray anything about my overall fitness.


Are there jobs in the military where fitness is very important? Absolutely. Are there jobs where fitness doesn't really matter at all? Absolutely. Are we trying to do a once size fits all solution to a problem that is plaguing society writ large, as well as the military by making it the problem of the individual? Absolutely.

Oh, and the USMC saying they don't have a problem with it as much as the rest of the services is because the USMC is the youngest service. It's easier to keep 18-24 year olds in shape than it is 30-40 (or beyond in the case of the Guard/Reserves) year olds.
 

Spekkio

He bowls overhand.
@Swanee, I agree with everything you're saying. Standards just become punitive if there isn't a holistic organizational approach to ensuring that the vast majority of people can meet them.

Also, as an over 40 year old, I've had to learn the ways of cyclic intensity and load management. Aging sucks.
 

CommodoreMid

Whateva! I do what I want!
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Look, let's strip away the silly attributional language that no one is saying.

If you can't make weight and you can't pass the abdominal circumference tape test and you can't pass the bodyfat tape test, then you are statistically a readiness risk to the Navy by proven scientific research. Fat, skinny, or inbetween.

When you make posts like this, you're like a smoker who says "I smoke two packs a day and I'm fine, I don't know what you're talking about that I can get cancer."

Our standards are well below typical firefighter standards, which is the "design limit" of our profession.

And to quote an experienced infantry officer: "the people who can max the run also tend to be the same people who can carry my ass to cover. And the burly soldiers who can lift a lot typically become a liability."
Glad to know I’m a shitbag in your eyes
 
Top