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Originally Posted by Ranger
IThat black girl you mentioned, Shoshona, obviously passed all her pre-deployment PT tests, and she obviously could have passed them any time anybody demanded that she prove she could, or she would not have been there. She had to pass that PT test just to be allowed to deploy with her unit. Everybody over there did. It may surprise you that a girl like that could run at least an average 6 1/2 minute mile over a two mile long course, but she could, obviously. Same-same push-up's, sit-up's, etc. Never judge a book by it's cover, I guess, hey?
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But then i guess that blows the "body fat" theory out the water, doesnīt it?
You said earlier:
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I have known guys that were in excellent physical shape, and were mentally as sharp as a tack, and yet they were still rejected for military service because their "body-fat calculation" was considered too high, and they were unable to bring it down enough (the military uses both the caliper "pinch test" and also full body submersion tests to calculate exact body-fat to weight ratios). It did not matter that they could pass every physical test - they could not meet the standards and that was that - they were out.
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In this case, Shoshona has a big ammount of body fat, clearly visible even at naked eye (unless you think itīs all muscles under there, LOL), that would have had her thrown out had those "body fat calculation" tests been performed on her. And if the test WERE in fact performed, i propose to you that they werenīt all that demanding after all. Maybe they raised the limit a few pounds.
And i also think itīs a pretty natural thing. According to the latest figures, over 50% of the US population is
overweight. . If the US Army was so picky with aplicantīs weight, there wouldnīt be enough people that fitted their high standards to maintain the army quotas.
Maybe they were all that fussy and picky back then when you went through it, but it seems the reality has changed a bit.
During the best part of the 20th century, the US army had the "luxury" to pick the "prime beef" off the draft listings. But now that the draft is a thing of the past, they compromise.
Here, read these articles:
http://www.sirc.org/articles/too_fat.shtml
"Too fat to die?
A recent article in the Times, US troops are losing the battle of the bulge, revealed that being overweight is not just the preserve of the couch potato. According to the article, the Times had seen a report, commissioned by the Pentagon that:
"is expected to say that 53.9 per cent of US military personnel over the age of 20 would be classified as too fat to fight under federal obesity standards. A fifth of those aged under 20 would also fail the fat test."
http://www.hackworth.com/26nov01.html
"The Corps, which has never lost sight that its primary mission is to fight, remains superbly trained and disciplined -- true to its time-honored slogan "We don't promise a rose garden." When, under Clinton, the Army lowered its standards to Boy Scout summer-camp level in order to increase enlistment, the Corps responded by making boot training longer and tougher.
Hello, is there a brain at the top somewhere beneath that snazzy Black Beret being modeled at most U.S. airports by too many overweight Army National Guard troops?"
http://www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/brigade/bravo_weight.htm
The point here is, why would the Army need a weight control program, if it doesnīt have overweight personnel? The answer is, well, they do.
So, you see Ranger, things seem to have changed a bit since back then when you went through it. If half of your army is overweight, i would say they have a real problem on their hands, wouldnīt you? And the lack of physical fitness will seriouslly impair their combat capability (at least in the Infantry ranks).
:rolleyes:
"So what is the US Army to do? Increase training? Closely monitor soldiers' diet? Close down the McDonalds outlets opened on US service bases across the globe originally intended to encourage new recruits? No. Just move the goal posts."
Well, that clears it!!
PS:
By the way, thereīs a lot of "fatness" going around in the military, western world wide. Even Germany has a problem, just like every western country, fruits of McDonaldīs and Pizza Hut sucess:
http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_347233.html