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Originally Posted by Gene Econ
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something that a Chain of Command has envisioned. It can be done given a clear vision of an end-state in terms of overall physical fitness.
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That is truly the key to a good PT program if it is designed to accomplish the goals to standards that are required to perform the job. Unfortunately the goals and standards of many in the Chain of Command are more like the goals of educators and that is to train to the standard of "the test" be it the APFT or the SAT. Neither of which measure the true ability of a person to perform all the actual tasks in school or combat. They are mere indicators of levels of ability. Good commanders are smart enough to define the requirements and allow the teams to design their own programs to achieve the results required, they do not worry about who has the unit with the highest test score. Now I am not saying that we need to throw out the PT test because it still provides a guage to validate that folks are doing something and troops (and I mean all regardless of rank or grade) will still do best that which the boss checks, but training to pass the APFT is not a program that will meet the needs of all troops and it has to be a totally integrated effort into the entire training effort. To me it has always been the minimum standard from which to start to build a program to meet unit requirements. Strength, agility, endurance are all important and lowering requirements to fit age is stupid if the person is still required to perform the same tasks in the same MOS. That is not a PT program, it is professional charity, personal suicide, and a team handicap. PT, like professional development, is not the sole charge of the chain of command it is the chain's responsibility to ensure that it is done but it is the individuals responsibility to execute and maintain. If that means starting your day at O dark thirty and ending it fifteen minutes before BMNT then so be it. Just my opinion and personal philosophy.
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