Dover Airmen to see new fitness program

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs announced a plan to revise the current service-wide fitness program following the CORONA TOP leadership conference held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

What changes can Dover Airmen expect to see immediately and in the near future?

According to John Walters, the Health and Wellness Center exercise physiologist, Airmen will not see any immediate changes but should expect to see drastic changes early next year. With that in mind, Mr. Walters urged base Airmen to start preparing now.

"Fitness is like studying for a test," he said. "You know what needs to get done and what you need to study. The body composition will now account for 20 percent of the total score, pushups and situps will each account for 10 percent, and the final 60 percent will come from your running score. If you're a weak runner, you'd better get out and start running now."

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz met with the service's other four stars and senior enlisted leadership to discuss, among other things, the service's fitness program. The leaders determined it was necessary to fine tune fitness testing, promote a year-round fitness culture, and send a clear message that health and fitness are vital to mission readiness.

"Fitness is a vital component of Air Force culture," General Schwartz said. "These challenging times underscore the importance of properly caring for our most valuable resource: our Airmen."

Mr. Walters has been expressing this very message for quite a while. The exercise physiologist's message has been simple - to promote health above all.

"If you put health first all the time, rather than merely focusing on the Air Force fitness test in the time frame around your evaluation, the test will take care of itself," Mr. Walters said.
Excellent health will result in a passing score, he said. Furthermore, healthy Airmen will miss less work, which is a fundamental requirement in the expeditionary force, which Dover AFB is critical to.

While commanders have responsibility of their unit fitness programs, each Airman is responsible for meeting and maintaining fitness standards 365 days a year, said Lt. Gen. Richard Y. Newton III, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower and personnel.

"With these program revisions and enhancements, we encourage a culture of fitness, empowering all Airmen to take responsibility for being physically mission ready," General Newton said.

General Newton added that the new Air Force instruction, projected for publication in July 2009, will better emphasize the service's fitness expectations of its Airmen. Who will conduct the testing, when and how Airmen will test are among the most significant revisions to the fitness program, which takes effect January 2010.

Perhaps the most significant difference in fitness testing will be its frequency, Air Force officials said. Full-time active-duty Airmen will now test twice each year, and most reservists or guardsmen will continue to test once per year.

To maximize testing objectivity, the AFI designates trained civilian proctors to conduct fitness tests administered at new centralized locations called fitness assessment cells.

The chief of promotions, evaluations, and fitness policy at the Air Staff stressed the importance of preparing for the running portion of the new fitness test.

Aerobic fitness is the best indicator of current and future health risk, followed by body composition, said Lt. Col. Scott Arcuri. Because of this, the aerobic run will now account for 60 percent of the test (previously 50 percent).

"We developed evidence-driven, health-based criterion standards for aerobic fitness and body composition and muscle fitness," Colonel Arcuri said. "Airmen can be confident the new standards and corresponding points have sound rationale behind them."

Senior leaders said a composite score of 75 is required to pass the test, but Airmen will also be required to meet minimum requirements for each component. Additionally, age-range requirements will be simplified to five categories: less than 30, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60-plus years of age.

Since fitness is a readiness issue, results will now be categorized using operational readiness or unit compliance inspection-type ratings. Those scoring 90 and above will be "Excellent;" those scoring between 75 and 90 will be "Satisfactory;" and those scoring under 75 will be "Unsatisfactory."

According to the SECAF/PA new story, failure to comply with the new fitness standards could impact more than an Airmen's waistline. The new AFI links unsatisfactory fitness test performance directly to enlisted and officer performance reports. Chief McKinley said the upcoming revised evaluation AFI will ensure no Airman can have a referral enlisted performance report for fitness and receive an overall five rating.

The rewritten AFI mandates that fitness compliance be reported from unit to wing to major command for review.

Chief Master Sgt. Mark Long, the Air Staff enlisted promotions, evaluations and physical fitness chief, Colonel Arcuri and Lt. Col. John Giles said Airmen can contact them for further questions on the program. Airmen should call DSN 224-8270 to reach Colonel Arcuri, 222-4532 to reach Colonel Giles, and 227-1661 to reach Chief Long.

Additionally, Mr. Walters said the HAWC is prepared to answer questions, as well. Airmen can call the HAWC at 677-3733. 

(Tech. Sgt. Amaani Lyle contributed to this story)