Observation
 

It's interesting that the 49-year-old Sergeant Major seems to be sympathetic to the interests of the older Soldier as he makes his case for tougher PT.

I don't know about that,but seriously I personally know a QP whose in his mid-50's,who not only is in excellent(not just in good shape)but also smart enough to have been an "O" on active duty and because he loves what he's doing requested to become an NCO leader to be with his men when they go beyond the wire.........;) Now that's the kind of soldier (leader)we need,too bad there aren't that many left........:D Don't ask me who he is,my lips are sealed......:eek:

Big Teddy :munchin

If I may, you are incorrect here IMHO. I spent many a year feeling this way as a young ROTC cadet and hard-charging LT. But you know what, no, we aren't all the same Soldier first. No organization, whether Fortune 500 company, janitorial service, or the US Army will ever be able to staff itself with people who will be the ideal candidate willing and able to meet the highest standards of the organization. This is how some people get ahead and some people do not. It's how folks like you strive for SF tabs, and others are fine chilling in the 1st Cav or 3ID for 20 years.

There are plenty of "good" men and women out there that are willing to serve our country and wear the uniform if given the chance. They may like the chance to serve, or the pay, the travel, or job training they can get on Uncle Sam's dime. Good on them. Many of them will never see a 12 mile ruck in 3 hours or a 5 mile run in 40:00. Being willing to do their less glamorous, less demanding job frees up men like you (and I, if I may be so bold) to serve in the positions that do require us to meet the "tough standard." This is why the Army says anything from, what like a 180? (not sure because--probably like yourself--I have never considered the bare minimum I would need to pass) up to a 300 is all GTG for an APFT. That is your "same, tough, basic standard." Instead of saying we ought to all meet the Infantry standard, maybe look at the Infantry standard as really being more like extra credit. They could just do it like places like Ranger School...you do your 54 pushups and get up. If there were to be a change in how the standard is handled that's what it would be. My S1 guys need to be able to do 54 pushups as a basic standard. They don't need to do 75 just because some Infantry or other HSLD unit says that's their standard.

Same thing with this "new" APFT.

when/if this takes places, the AMEDD/medcom might cease to exist :D

ON A MISSION to SAVE YOU?
 

IN the April 2012 issue of Men's Health there is an article on page 110, Title "ARE YOU SPECIAL FORCES FIT ? On a Mission to Save You: America's Warrior Elite Train for Psychological Resistence, Total-Body Fitness, Calm UNDER FIRE, AND BETTER DECISION MAKING WHEN IT COUNTS, HERE'S HOW YOU CAN USE THEIR CUTTING-EDGE TECHNIQUES TO BECOME BETTER AT EVERYTHING YOU DO. Of course there is a 2 page picture of you guessed it 3 Navy Seals walking in knee deep water with the caption "ANSWERING THE CALL" Navy Seals on a training exercise near CORONADO, CA. On page 113 there is another picture of another special operator with a side bar "TACTICS" 1.Build A COMBAT BODY: Army Green Berets, Fort Bragg, NC. 2.EXCEL AS THE ULTIMATE TEAM PLAYER: Air Force Combat Controllers, HULBURT Field, FL. 3. WIN THE MENTAL BATTLE: Marine Corps Critical Skills Operators, Camp Lejeune,NC. 4. PERFORM UNDER FIRE Navy Seals, Naval Base Coronodo,CA. TK.
PS. What happened to the Good Looking Girl Advatars?

I'm absolutely amazed by this yet another idea for PT improvements. Tons of money were spend already, and numerous revisions and updates were written to the manuals covering previous "improved PT" idea. I don't get it. One has to remember that this is very time and money consuming process. When you combine this with all the talks about new PT uniform tryouts and upcoming changes, you have to really wonder what is going on here?

I'm glad I searched before posting about this article. My question is, does anyone here have experience with the THOR3 program, and if so, is there a workout program that they follow daily that we might be able to acquire?

Looking at a Army Times I take that SMA wish never made it pass the dream states?

So 4 miler nor the 12 miler are apart of the PT test now?

Everybody's special now. :rolleyes:

Our Detachment utilizes the THOR3 program exclusively. There is no set workout I could give you, and the strength and conditioning staff are the key to making the program work. You tell them your fitness goals or mission METL tasks, and they build a program based on that tailored to your individual or team's needs. It's surprisingly good; all of their training methodology comes from the professional athletic world.

After going through six months of the program and seeing its results transfer to Combat/training, I'll never go back. The experience has convinced me that the Army's approach to PT is fundamentally flawed. The 4 mile run that the CSM tossed out there is going the wrong direction for combat fitness. I probably can't run 4 miles all that well anymore, but the other day I IMT'd in full kit while shooting for 800 meters up and back for five cycles, and never got winded. Tired, yes, but never got smoked or had to slow down, or had my shooting effected.

The Army needs to decide what it wants it's soldiers to be able to do in combat, and reverse engineer its PT plan and test from those requirements. That's not what the majority of the Army is doing now, and that's not what the CSM is proposing either. My .02.

Pure logic. :cool:

I think part of his problem was that SGM's (or warrants) would spill coffee from their ever-present coffee cups while completing the shuttle run! :D

Hey, I have an ever present coffee cup. Don't spill a drop. :lifter

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