U.S. Forces Fitness

Story by Sgt. Anna Churco  241st Mobile Public Affairs Detachment     POZNAN, Poland-- The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) will become the Army physical test of record by October 2020, replacing the current Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). Consisting of six events, the new ACFT will test Soldiers’ mental toughness and stamina and better predict Soldiers’ readiness for a modern battlefield. Training for the ACFT is challenging, and Soldiers with 1st Infantry Division (FWD) (1 ID FWD) face the extra challenge of being deployed overseas while training.  Sgt. Samuel Pettis, a Cavalry Scout based out of Fort Riley, Kansas, has overcome this challenge and continued to train for the ACFT while being deployed with 1 ID (FWD) to Poland in support of Atlantic Resolve. Many Soldiers, including Pettis, have taken the initiative to join civilian gyms while deployed to non-combat regions to help maintain their physical readiness.  “It can be hard to fin...

Story by Terrance Bell U.S. Army Garrison Fort Lee Public Affairs    FORT LEE, Va.  -- A handful of Fort Lee Soldiers are the newest recipients of the Das Abzeichen für Leistungen im Truppendienst. The 10, assigned to the 59th Ordnance Brigade, were awarded with the coveted German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency during a ceremony Nov. 5 at Ball Auditorium. Col. Daniel P. Ellinger and Command Sgt. Maj. Ivy L. Guido, 59th Ord. Bde. commander and CSM, respectively, were present for the awards that included representatives of CASCOM’s German Liaison Office. The ceremony capped an event starting with a ruck march Oct. 28 and concluding with a swim Nov. 4. Soldiers competed for the GAFBMP -- represented by the German eagle surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves -- at three levels: gold, silver and bronze.  To earn the badge, participants must: - Submit an evaluation report from commanders. - Satisfactorily complete a combat lifesaving eve...

By Steve Larson Public Affairs Office Sgt. 1st Class Randall Matlock was a platoon sergeant with the 1077th Ground Ambulance Company in Olathe, Kansas, when he learned the Army was looking for instructors to travel around the world, and educate Soldiers about the new Army Combat Fitness Test. “This test is a major change in the Army and is the first step towards a culture shift for fitness and Holistic Health and Fitness,” said Matlock. “It was a first-hand opportunity to learn the ACFT and Holistic Health and Fitness and take that knowledge back to the National Guard formation.” So, the Blackwell, Oklahoma, native applied and was accepted for the program. He was assigned to the Center for Initial Military Training in Fort Eustis, Virginia, as an Army Combat Fitness Test instructor on the Mobile Training Team. “When I found out I was accepted, I started training,” said Matlock. “I live in a small town and there weren’t standard Army climbing pods available. There was, however,...

KUWAIT Story by Spc. Dakota Vanidestine 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)    As incoming Soldiers at basic combat training and advanced individual training conduct the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), existing Soldiers throughout the Army scramble to prepare for this event. One Master Fitness Trainer (MFT) from the 1st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC) has taken charge of making sure units at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait are equipped with the leadership and knowledge they need to successfully perform and administer the ACFT. Sgt. 1st Class John Santos, 1st TSC, has trained over 225 Soldiers to administer and grade the ACFT since June 2019. “The goal of this program is to expand the force and get as many people across Afrijan trained for this event as possible” Santos said. “I’m trying to bridge the gap between Soldiers in the field and incoming Soldiers so that we don’t look like we don’t know anything” Santos added. One of those 225 Soldi...

Story by Michael Strasser Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs FORT DRUM, N.Y.  --  “Add four, add four, keep pushing, keep pushing.” “Adding four” meant increasing the resistance on the spin bike, giving it the feel of pedaling up a hill. “Pushing it” were the 20 Soldiers hovering over their bikes during the hourlong spin class on Oct. 15, led by Staff Sgt. Stacy Sanchez, from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI). Spinning is a cardiovascular workout that focuses on lower-body strength development by engaging the muscles from the glutes down to the ankles. It also uses core and back muscles to stabilize the body during the exercise. The health benefits include strengthening the heart muscles and improving the lungs’ ability to supply oxygenated blood to the muscles. Sanchez has been instructing the class since late September, twice weekly, as a cardio cross-training option for Soldiers across the 10th Mountain Di...

Story by Senior Airman Christian Conrad    60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs    TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Five hundred and fifty-one pounds can look like a lot of things. The engine block on a mid-size car, for example, comes in at about 500 pounds. Your average adult male tiger, while a little out there, likewise weighs in at the quarter-ton range. On Sept. 13, to Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Cook, 551 pounds looked like 12 plates of iron on a long bar.  Cook, a 60th Operations Group boom operator evaluator, participated in the annual Olympia Pro Powerlifting Competition in Las Vegas Sept. 13 and 14 with one goal in mind: break the 534-pound world record for a raw, or unassisted, bench press lift in his 198-220 pound weight class.  The morning of the lift, Cook woke up knowing two things. “Either I was going home with an international record or I was going to the hospital with multiple injuries to my chest muscles,” Cook said. “I envisione...

Story by Lance Cpl. Brennan Beauton Marine Corps Installations Pacific CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, Japan -- Members of the U.S. community competed against one another Sept. 29, 2019 in another installment of Okinawa’s Strongest: Battle of the South on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan. The event was held to determine who were some of the strongest men and women on Okinawa. “Today went great,” explained Taryn Miller, an adult sports specialist for Marine Corps Community Services. “The weather was awesome. The competitors had a lot of energy. There was a lot of camaraderie along with a competitive edge among everybody.” Okinawa residents and service members traveled from all across the island to participate in this event. The competitors were divided into five different weight classes. Two female weight classes and three male weight classes. The first event was the yoke carry, which consisted of a competitor carrying a set weight 50 yards in a race against time. The second was a far...

Story by Airman 1st Class Mckenzie Airhart  194th Wing The 116th Air Support Operations Squadron have implemented the new Tier 2 Operator Fitness Test as a part of a force wide rollout.  The new test will be standard for determining the physical fitness of special warfare Airmen. The Tier 2 test has 10 different exercises that test muscle strength and power as well as the aerobic stamina of the Airmen.  To create a test that was more representative of the Tactical Air Control Party function in a combat environment, two years of research was done to determine what exercises mimicked combat tasks. Also testing to determine the appropriate way of measuring the performer’s ability was established, said Chief Master Sgt. Jason Quesenberry, 116th ASOS Superintendent.  The test offers a snapshot of a members capabilities and predicts if they’ll be able to perform their war time mission, said Quesenberry.  Quesenberry also noted that the OFT minimum standards are ...

Story by Capt. Joe Legros  Michigan National Guard Why would anyone change the beloved Army Physical Fitness Test?  After all, sit-ups, push-ups and a two-mile run have successfully assessed Soldier physical readiness for the last forty years, right? Not exactly. The APFT has been utilized since the early 1980s. It has also served as a basis for job performance, promotion and retention of countless Soldiers. However, as a combat readiness predictor, the assessment meets strong resistance.  For this reason, a handful of Soldiers gathered on Fort Custer Training Center’s sweltering, quarter-mile track September 5, 2019, to conduct a different, new and improved, physical assessment. Enter the Army Combat Fitness Test, coming to an armory and track near you.  According to the Army’s ACFT website, “The APFT is assessed to have 40 percent predictive power for combat performance; the ACFT is assessed to have 80 percent predictive power.”  “The AC...

Story by Lance cpl. Melissa Ugalde Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton The feeling of accomplishment, victory, and overwhelming pride is what U.S. Marine Sgt. Kevin Fisch, a motor transportation mechanic with 1st Maintenance Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group, felt after finishing the 2019 High Intensity Tactical Training Championship as the fittest male in the Marine Corps. Fisch, a native of Lockport, Illinois, enlisted in the Marine Corps in July 2017 at 24 years old after completing his bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Illinois State University. Fisch says his lifelong dream is to help and serve, and being in the Marine Corps would help further his knowledge and skills in his future career in criminal justice. In 2018, when Fisch was assigned to 1st Maint. Bn. on Camp Pendleton, he was able to focus on his love for fitness. His passion and love of fitness helped his career as a Marine. One day, he volunteered to participate in a HI...

Story by Kristen Murphy  Marine and Family Program s Thirty-five US Marines will compete at the fifth annual High Intensity Tactical Training (HITT) Championship at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, from September 9-12, 2019. One male and one female Marine will be crowned the 2019 HITT Champion. US Marines from all over the world competed at their home installations for the chance to participate in the annual championship. The preliminary HITT competitions concluded in July, and the top male and female winners from each installation were invited to the championship event – wildcards were also invited. This year’s championship emphasizes the tactical focus of HITT and incorporates a live –fire fitness event, combat swim, and pugil stick bouts. The championship is comprised of seven challenges, across four days. It will test the strength, ability, power, speed, tactical skills, and cognitive abilities of the warrior athletes. HITT is focused on developing and maintaining a...

Army Public Health Center  Story by Douglas Holl  ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – One of the challenges facing Army leadership as they transition to the new Army Combat Fitness Test, which will be fully implemented by October 2020, is preventing musculoskeletal training injuries. Physical training is necessary to develop and maintain the fitness required to accomplish military missions, but is also known to cause injury. According to Army Public Health Center experts, MSK injuries and related conditions led to an average of 37 limited duty days per injury. This translates to 2 million medical encounters across the Army annually and an estimated 10 million lost training days due to limited duty. “Seventy percent of all limited duty profiles are for MSK injuries,” said Dr. Michelle Chervak, acting manager for the APHC Injury Prevention Program, which identifies causes and risk factors for Army training-related injuries. “We can show that greater amounts of training (fo...