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Getting slightly back on topic, I can't exactly recall but sometime around late 1999/early 2000 the Army Physical Fitness School released the draft 3-25.20 on their website that was to replace the old FM 21-20, "Physical Fitness Training". 3-25.20 directly addressed the concept of functional fitness, and suggested a complete overhaul of both the APFT and the guidance for regular unit training. An example of this change in mindset can be seen in Chapter 1 (PRT Philosophy): "Army PRT must incorporate those types of training activities that directly support warfighting tasks. This is why PRT activities must include such fundamental skills as climbing, crawling and running that contribute to success in the more complex skills of obstacle negotiation, combatives and militarymovement."
Less than a year after it hit the street, the expected publish date changed from 12 months to "pending", and shortly thereafter the document was pulled from the school's website, with little heard about it since. Even if the Marines weren't the "first" to get the ball rolling, at least they're closer to implementation of a functional fitness program than the Army (as a whole) seemed to be able to get.
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