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I know! lets make a new law and make it apply to EVERYONE from now on because we (as a people) are too stupid to handle things on a case-by-case basis.

Remember, the military is government, and government is their own worst enemy and the problem.

As a tax payer who helped fund that education, in this case I do NOT want a refund, I want this guy in the military. He sounds like exactly the kind of guy we need.

Surely some bright FReeper can find a way we can try and send a message.

Interesting story -- thanks for the post.

In my opinion, the basic physical standards in the Army are not that hard. It's not too much to ask a West Point cadet to pass.

it seems to me that the article was ambiguous about the facts surrounding Waudby's case, and this leads to the debate surrounding his case. i am currently a Cadet at West Point, so perhaps i can clarify some of what the article left out. the army physical fitness test (APFT) is taken by all cadets each semester. the standard test is push-ups, sit-ups and a two mile run. in certain circumstances the test may be altered to accommodate injuries or certain athletes, but these exceptions are rare. certain football players and cadets recovering from serious lower body injuries (e.g. a blown out knee) must still take the alternate test, which still consists of push-up, sit-ups, and stationary bike test. i am not certain of the standards for the bike test, but they are certainly available on-line. bottom line, the APFT at west point is administered just as it is in the army, and cadets must meet the same minimum standards as in the army, or they are separated from the academy (in case you were wondering, Army regulations say that the only person who may "pace" somebody during the PAFT must themselves take the whole APFT). i hope this clarifies some of the confusion over the frequency of the APFT.
there also seems to be some confusion about Waudby's exceptions to the APFT. like i said earlier, he had to take the test each semester unless he was injured. i am friends with a number of football players, they have always known (from the time they entered the academy or prep school) that after the last football game of their senior year they would no longer be able to take the bike test, and would have to complete the standard APFT with push-ups, sit-ups, and a two mile run. the last football game of every year is the Army-Navy game, played the first weekend in December, every year. similarly, the spring semester APFT is administered in mid-April, every year.
the last bit of confusion stems from the question of whether the APFT is a graduation requirement or not. cadets are rated in three areas, academics, military performance, and physical performance. cadets must attain a 2.0 GPA in each area in order to graduate. since cadets are also commissioned upon graduation they must meet the army's commissioning standards in order to graduate as well. commissioning requirements are established by the Dept. of the Army, and include passing the APFT.
the last point of confusion is why waudby was allowed to take the bike test. all football linemen are allowed to take the bike test, until their spring semester APFT during their senior year. Waudby is the first person i have heard of who failed this requirement. i know several football players, all of whom graduated on time after passing their spring APFT the first time. this is not to say that losing the weight required to pass the APFT is easy. like i said, i know several football players and have seen how hard it was for them to cut weight, but they did it in time. Waudby was given more opportunities than most other cadets to pass the APFT, and did not meet the standards. ask anybody in the army, they will tell you it is a standards-orineted organization, and should be. Waudby was even given more opportunity than other cadets to pass the APFT. if a cadet fails an APFT he is retested on the APFT in 90 days. if he fails that test he is considered for separation from the academy. while i am not familiar with eh details of Waudby's case, it appears that he failed the spring APFT, failed the 90 day retest, and then was given one more opportunity and failed that as well. i hope this long post helps clarify some of the ambiguity created by the article.

"Everything I learned in college, I can't really apply [outside the military]," he said.

I don't think I WANT someone like that in my military..

This guy is not only fat and out of shape but he's a moron as well.