Note: The following information is extracted from a memo from General John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief of Staff, dated 30 July 2003:
Our superb Total Force performance in Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM secured our reputation as the greatest Air Force in the world. We should all take great pride in that. Our execution of the war plan was also consistent with our core values. Integrity, in that we upheld the highest standards of performance, learned from the things we could have done better, and will make ourselves better as a result; service before self, in that 40,000 warriors deployed forward, supported by thousands more back home, to do the right thing for the people of Iraq and to play our part in the joint air, land, and sea effort; and excellence, in that we demonstrated the ability to plan and execute air and space missions with a degree of precis ion never before achieved. When looking at our Air Force overall, I am very pleased. One aspect of our Total Force that does need improvement, however, is our physical fitness.
About ten years ago, we transitioned to fitness testing based on the cycle ergometry test. This was done to preclude injuries experienced in the previous 1.5-mile run format. It was also deemed a more precise and high-tech way to measure aerobic performance. My belief is that we are a much different Air Force today. We deploy to all regions of the world, living in tent cities and working on flight lines in extremes of temperatures. Some of our airmen today are operating from inside Iraq, subject to attack, and could be called upon to help defend the base, a trend that will surely increase in the growing expeditionary nature of our business. The amount of energy we devote to our fitness programs is not consistent with the growing demands of our warrior culture. It's time to change that.
We will soon release a new fitness program that gets back to the basics of running, sit-ups, and pushups. There will be accommodations made for those who aren't able to run for legitimate reasons. The cycle ergometry test may still be used for those not medically cleared to run. We are planning to issue physical training (PT) gear as part of the program and to put responsibility for PT in the chain of command, not with the medical community or the commander’s support staff. I expect this effort to be led from the top, starting with commanders and senior NCOs, and I expect those who have trouble meeting the standards to be helped by others in their unit until they do meet the standard. Physical fitness should also be an area of concern for the Air Force civil servants. I encourage the civilian members of our Air Force organizations to join with their uniformed peers in participating in this program. (Editor's Note: The Air Force released the details of the new fitness program in October 2003. The program takes effect on 1 January 2004).
While we have weight and body fat standards (see male and female charts) that we must meet, there will be some, weightlifters in particular, who may be perfectly fit but not meet these standards. This is where I expect commanders to step in and make a decision. Everyone will have to pass the commander's eyeball test about how fit we are to wear the uniform. Every year we muster out about 400 people from our Air Force because of fitness issues. We should ask ourselves how many of those people were really trying to meet the standard and how many leaders and supervisors took an active part -- getting out and running with them, etc. -- in helping them meet the standard.
