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That’s not the case with the new test, which about 85 percent of command Airmen passed, Colonel La Kier said. He said Airmen seem to view the new test as “effort dependent — if I try harder I should do better.”
And it has a practical application. With the new test, people can make the connection between push-ups and filling sandbags, a hot and strenuous duty performed by Airmen at Balad Air Base, Iraq, where they fill bags and stack them around tents for protection from mortar attacks that have claimed the life of one Airman.
The new test also makes sense logistically, he said, explaining that cycle ergometry requires special equipment and training to test people one-on-one. With Fit to Fight, the test can be given in the field by a physical training leader who can monitor several people at the same time.
“This is a much better test,” agrees Staff Sgt. Joshua James DiTullio, a physical training leader at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras. “Before, it wasn’t a true test of your physical ability. You were at the mercy of the computer.” With the new test, he noted, he is definitely “more fit to fight.”
Getting started into the new way of working out was a bit slow and painful at first, but now Sergeant DiTullio enjoys greater “mental clarity” and a more toned body.
“I think it’s a move in the right direction,” said Sergeant DiTullio, a quality assurance evaluator for the base’s liquid fuels and water systems.
But like Sergeant Hartmann, not everyone was moving in the right direction when testing began. At Pacific Air Forces, about 14 percent scored in the poor or marginal category, said Leyla Kelter, the command’s fitness program consultant.
In many cases, she said, the problem had more to do with being unprepared than a lack of effort. Some underestimated how much time they needed to prepare, while others overestimated their running ability. Even factoring waist size to determine points for body composition can be tricky because it’s easy to squeeze the tape measure a bit tighter than appropriate, Ms. Kelter said.
“It’s just a matter of education and using their time better,” Ms. Kelter said from her office at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.
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But for those who fail the test, help is there. Airmen scoring marginal must attend a healthy living workshop at the local health and wellness center where they receive about two hours of counseling on subjects such as behavior modification, nutrition and fitness improvement. These Airmen must retest within 180 days.
Airmen with a poor rating must attend the healthy living workshop and participate in a fitness improvement program with one-on-one fitness counseling. These Airmen have 90 days to retest. In some instances where physical limitations prevent running, cycle ergometry can still be used along with a combination of push-ups and sit-ups.
Fire and Ice
Airmen in Alaska face challenges not found at most bases. At Eielson Air Force Base, it’s a challenge to combine the new fitness test with long Alaskan winters where temperatures dip to minus 30 or lower, said Dana Baugh, an exercise physiologist who oversees the testing.
After a winter of exercising primarily indoors, making the transition from a treadmill to the outdoor track used for testing can be difficult for some, Ms. Baugh said. Other factors for northern tier Airmen include a tendency for some to gain weight while cooped up during winter and the mental aspect of coping with prolonged darkness.
These Airmen also face a narrower window of opportunity to take their test, which means juggling test dates around deployments, exercises and summer leave.
Eielson only tests outdoors from about mid-May through September at a local high school track. However, the extra effort is worth it at northern tier bases because exercise can help battle the wintertime blahs, said Ms. Baugh. It also improves long-term health that is beneficial to the individual and the Air Force.
It can also provide short-term benefits. At Elmendorf, Airmen beating the commander’s test time by a 10-percent margin win a day off. The unit with the best composite score can take $10,000 back to the office to use toward operations and maintenance projects. The second and third place units also receive monetary awards totaling more than $15,000. But Airmen there hardly have to be sold on the new program.
“At Elmendorf its been embraced as part of the culture and mission,” Ms. Kelter said. And not just by servicemembers. Family members with baby buggies turn out at the local track to join Airmen doing physical training both mornings and afternoons.
Staff Sgts. Rodolfo (left) and Mary Anne Reyes (center) have made working out a family affair. Five-year-old Reanna shows her warrior spirit by doing pushups with her mom during daily workouts at home.
(Photo by Master Sgt. Keith Reed)
Doing it in Deutschland
Fit to Fight also has been embraced by members of the 52nd Comptroller Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. These finance troops have won bragging rights for earning the commander’s Iron Flight unit fitness award three consecutive months.
They’ve kicked butt on the test individually. Out of 30 people Tech. Sgt. Cheryl Wiggins has tested, 29 scored good or excellent. It’s not by coincidence. The comptrollers are out three days a week doing group PT — even in the snow. They take a practice test every Thursday, so when test time rolls around, there are few surprises.
Some grumbled in the beginning when they turned out for group training. But Sergeant Wiggins said a sense of camaraderie has developed over time.
It’s also been a good way of getting the workaholics out of the office who would otherwise keep their noses to the grindstone, said Staff Sgt. Mary Anne Reyes, also a member of the comptroller squadron. But office work doesn’t necessarily end when the workout begins, noted Major Harback.
“Sometimes I get more business done on the two-mile run than the whole day,” she joked.
Physical training is serious business to Sergeant Reyes, who used to feel guilty about taking time out for the gym at lunchtime at her previous base where she was the only one in her office who worked out. She was thrilled to see PT become part of the workday, especially when her husband deployed for a remote tour to South Korea, leaving her with two children to tend.
“That was my lifesaver,” she said. But she’s added workouts at home as well, where her daughter does push-ups and sit-ups with mom. Her husband, Staff Sgt. Rodolfo Reyes, may feel more reluctant to join in. She scored 97.5 on her fitness test and can crank out 64 push-ups compared with his 55.
But he doesn’t mind, Sergeant Reyes joked, because her husband has learned that when his wife works out, she’s happier, and therefore “I’m nicer to him,” she laughed.
