SMA wants 4-mile run, 12-mile march for PT test - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

SMA wants 4-mile run, 12-mile march for PT test

FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Your new fitness test will be the toughest in Army history, if Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler has his way.

You’ll have to run up to four miles in 36 minutes or less, and do a 12-mile ruck march in four hours or less.

The longer run would be a better test of endurance and a “gut check,” Chandler said. The ruck march would ensure soldiers are ready and able to meet any challenge they may face.

“Maintaining status quo is not good enough,” Chandler said.

With jaw set and a stern voice, Chandler shared his plan with roughly 650 soldiers at a town hall meeting here in January. The announcement was met with a mixture of laughter and enthusiastic “hoo-ahs!” Chandler was neither distracted nor diverted by either response. With emphatic determination, he said the Army’s weight problems and fitness failures will come to an end.

Chandler said the Army is about 33 percent fatter than it was 10 years ago. He said some soldiers look like “stuffed sausages” and it’s not because uniform sizes have shrunk. The problem, he said, is that the Army’s body-fat allowance is the most lenient among the services. In fact, the Army allows a level of body fat the American Health Association labels as “obese.” Army standards go as high as 26 percent for men and 36 percent for women, both of which are but a short step from morbidly obese. That is a critical step, as it quickly leads to lasting health issues such as diabetes and heart disease.

“We are not going to accept obesity as a standard in our Army anymore,” Chandler said.

A four-mile run would be, by far, the toughest annual test among the armed services — a mile more than Marines must run. For a comparison, see the accompanying chart.

Chandler said he was not sure whether the ruck march would reach the air assault or expert infantry badge standard. The air assault ruck march is done with full gear, a 30-pound ruck and rifle. The EIB march, largely considered the tougher of the two, has a 35-pound ruck and typically tougher terrain. Both have a three-hour limit.

The SMA also questioned whether the new shuttle run and long jump should remain as part of the new fitness test. The long jump is a “great measurement of leg strength but not necessarily what we want to measure,” Chandler said. He added that the shuttle run is far more difficult for older soldiers who are not as agile as they once were. In an event in which pass and fail are separated by a few seconds, that could prove disastrous.

Chandler did not offer suggestions for exercises that could replace those two.

What remains to be seen is whether test designers will heed Chandler’s desires. Training and Doctrine Command will present its formal recommendations to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno later this month. Maj. Gen. Richard Longo, who is leading the change, said he would not comment until TRADOC makes its final decision.

Getting it right

This is not the first attempt to toughen up the new test, which was introduced last year.

The first iteration started with five events: a 60-yard shuttle run, one-minute rower, standing long jump, one-minute push-up and 1.5-mile run.

Officials spent six months testing more than 10,000 soldiers at eight locations. Results proved the new test was harder than the current one but not exactly a smoker.

The average basic training male knocked out 36 push-ups in one minute, 33 rowers in one minute and ran an 11:02 in the 1.5-mile run. In the current test, male trainees averaged 49 push-ups, 62 sit-ups and a two-mile run time of 15:09.

The average basic training female soldier hit 19 push-ups in one minute, 31 rowers in one minute and finished the 1.5-mile run at 13:12. In the current test, female trainees averaged 39 push-ups, 61 sit-ups and a two-mile run time of 16:37.

Longo told Army Times three key changes were under consideration as evaluations wrapped up:

• The addition of dead-hang pull-ups to replace push-ups. This is considered a better measurement of strength needed for combat drills, but it also presents problems. Namely, officials are adamant that the new test remain gender-neutral, with identical events for men and women. There will be different scoring standards based on physiological differences, but female soldiers would be required to do dead-hang pull-ups.

“The average [for women] might be three or four pull-ups,” Longo said at the time. “Excellent might be seven. Poor might be one. So that means each additional pull-up might be worth 25 points. I don’t know if that’s what we want.”

• Double the rower from one to two minutes. Evaluations showed that the shorter version had a steep bell curve with little variation. The idea is that extending the rower to two minutes will better measure the difference between a soldier with good overall body fitness and one who can bust out a high number in one minute but is spent afterward.

• Return to a two-mile run. The changes resulted from an analysis of statistical data and comments from the rank and file, said Longo, who serves as deputy commanding general of Initial Military Training. Although the shorter run is arguably the best measure for cardiovascular fitness, many soldiers and commanders said the extra half-mile measures the heart.

Odierno’s decision is expected by April. If he opts to go with a new fitness test, you can expect a six-month transition and full implementation by Oct. 1.