Posted on 12/24/2017 10:57:30 AM PST by PROCON
You have to remember what the Army was like at that time.
The Warsaw Pact, our potential combat adversary for decades, fell apart.
The Democrats wanted a “Peace Dividend”.
President Bush (the first one) was an aviator and a sailor.
That Peace Dividend wasn’t going to fall heavily on the Navy and Air Force.
The Army was going to get the big cuts.
So, the leadership of the Army faced a real dilemma. They couldn’t fight the cuts and they couldn’t pass them off to the Navy and Air Force.
Who could they offer up as a sacrifice?
The National Guard.
The Iraqis did try to attack us before DESERT STORM. Multi division with Republican Guards.
It was a joke.
The Army realized that they could easily defeat the Iraqis, so the mission became destroying the credibility of the National Guard so the Regular Army could grab their budget.
If you had five PT tests, then those results were used to show how ill prepared the National Guard was. The tests weren’t to see if you were combat ready. The Regular Army units weren’t taking five PT tests before they deployed.
At that time, nothing scared the Army leadership more than having units that trained two days a month being as good as units that supposedly trained every day of the year.
I was at the Infantry Conference after DESERT STORM. Gary Luck, the Commander of the XVIIIth Airborned Corps said three times that he would have no National Guard units in his Corps.
Lots of politics involved in your PT tests if you were alerted.
“I wonder if fitness standards are just as important for the typical Sailor or Airman.”
We had to walk up 4 flights of stairs (ladders) to eat breakfast. In the snow, uphill both ways.
I remember that scene. Pretty cynical move, considering how many senior active army officers had their OERs padded with glowing reports on how they improved their associated reserve component round out units’ readiness for deployment.
Yep.
I wore the crossed muskets for awhile.
Show me the science.
I was around when the Army went from the five event PT test to the three event PT test.
Do you know why they changed?
Cost.
The five event test needed an inverted ladder and a Run-Dodge-Jump course.
The three event didn’t need those.
No science. No evidence. No history.
Cost.
Weight control and the PT test were never meant to prepare Soldiers for combat.
They were meant to be used to reduce the number of Soldiers.
One time, they raised the standards because they needed to get rid of more Soldiers and they couldn’t with the existing standards.
That was our great Army leadership.
They must have needed more whales.
CPO Sharkey says, “Waddaya takin about? We’re all fit.”
There was a JAG episode like this. A computer geek enlisted in the Navy and let his weight balloon. He tried everything to shed weight including things that were bad for his health. Then he got an offer from a software company and finagled a medical discharge, IIRC, and took the civilian job.
Problem was, he bragged too much about how he had duped the Navy, and word got back to JAG, who noted he wasn’t completely severed from service but was in the irregular reserve. They reactivated his ass and put him in the brig. Great episode.
I was DCET Qualed, qualed on every F/F position including Scene Leader. Was POIC of Ship’s Security Teams inport and SSET Leader. Of course had to maintain and keep qualed in my rating. Was Ship’s pilot Rescue Swimmer. Retention PO. Work Center Supervisor and then Leading STG. Was Nuke Weapons/ASROC Handling Supervisor, Torpedo Handling Supervisor, and qualed on every weapon system on the ship except the Terriers. Would have gotten to that eventually, even though not my rate. First Aid Qualed. Could Navigate Celestially, DR or electronically. Was working on my Underway JOOD quals. Never had a problem finding time to stay in shape underway or inport.
No excuse for out of shape Sailors at sea or at shore commands. None.
That’s a frocking fact.
Every Marine is a rifleman.
I've seen countless guys look weak and then bust our asses on runs. We should have hard standards and keep them. However, this navy 'pardons' may be more in line with coming storms.
I certainly agree with that.
My BMI take goes with the ongoing battle I've had with my own doctor who always imposes the trend du jour on my annual visits. It seems the limits are always floating.
This last week my blood pressure was high although the top number hasn't changed in 10 years. But the standard just did, so now my physical shows I have hypertension. It disqualifies me for some jobs without a waiver.
Up until the early 70’s, the backbone on the US Navy was full of very overweight Navy Chiefs. My dad was one of them. He retired as a Senior Chief, but was screwed out of a promotion to Master Chief because some young punk Lt(jg) held it against my dad because he was fat. The senior officers and Master Chiefs on my dad’s promotion board were totally pissed that this punk kept my dad -who was one of the very best Chiefs in the Navy - from this well-earned promotion.
As the Maintenance Chief in a A6 squadron during a cruise off the coast of Vietnam Nam, he made sure his planes were always ready to fly and set a US Navy record for mission readiness rate of 97%.
Women who think they’re men can’t pass the fitness test?
M-14 at close range
I was in the post draft volunteer Navy. We needed people. They were not looking for ways to shrink the ranks.
Fifty years ago today I had been in Navy boot camp at NRTC San Diego for ten days. I was a typical 20 year old college drop out with an appetite for alcohol and pot and not in the best shape. By the end of February in the new year, 1968, I was in the best shape of my life. We did no running and minimal calisthenics but marched for hours in drills on the tarmac carrying Springfields with the barrels filled with lead. I was assigned to a 1943 tin can after more than a year of schools and did three West Pacs. Anyone who did sea duty on one of those can attest that coping with rolls caused by angry seas is one of the best isometric exercise routines ever invented.
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