Should Soldiers Be Trained Like Elite Athletes?
That is what one former General thinks:
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 11, 2014) — As football season kicks off, the public is focusing on favorite teams and athletes and making predictions. That same focus needs to be on “our Soldier-athletes,” perhaps even more so, said Lt. Gen. Robert B. Brown, commander, Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Brown spoke at the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare Medical Forum, Wednesday.
Before kicking off his discussion on “The Soldier Athlete,” Brown walked around the audience of mostly Soldiers and former Soldiers, asking them to describe traits of good athletes. “Leadership,” “disciplined,” “talented,” “teamwork,” “commitment,” “hard work,” “determination,” “competitiveness,” “physically fit,” and “resilient” were some of the attributes given.
Then, Brown asked the same question about Soldiers. The similarities of their answers were striking.
Brown has some insights into soldiering and athletics. He was the number two basketball recruit from Michigan, playing for Coach Mike Krzyewski at the U.S. Military Academy. He was commissioned in 1981, and went infantry.
“We need to be more proactive in the way we treat Soldiers,” he said. In many ways, Soldiers have to deal with situations more difficult than athletes, particularly on the battlefield, but also at home station.
The battlefield of the future will be even more confused and chaotic than ever before, and a mature, well-trained Soldier who is adaptive and quick-thinking will be required.
Who could have imagined just a few months ago that a civilian airline would be shot out of the sky, the barbarism of ISIS and the situation in Ukraine?” he asked. The only predictable thing is that the future will be even more confused and chaotic, he said.
In Brown’s early career, he said the “fog of war was not having enough information. Now, the fog of war is too much information — in overwhelming amounts.” Soldiers will need to process that information much more rapidly than ever before and to do that will require a lot of realistic training. What is certain is that “the enemy will adapt” and they won’t play by the same rules and moral values. [Army.mil]
You can read more at the link.
I definitely agree with the information overload, but as far as training soldiers as elite athletes I would just be happy if the Army became committed to keeping soldiers healthy.
well, maybe not like an NFL athlete….
Good idea…
…more curfews, less drinking, more reflective belts, sensitivity education, minority history propaganda, reduced standards for special interests, unequal rules for seexual consent…
Yeah… elite athletic training…
…for the Special Olympics.
Another “Fantasy” by some officer sitting in a cushioned office, running PT at his convenience, not stressed out with mundane B/S requirements overwhelming their lives, but applying his advanced degree learning, which he was given a stress free amount of time to complete. Yea, meanwhile, recruiting from less than 1/2 of 1% of the American population…NOT the elite intellectual base or from those with athletic prowess, who have no desire to put up with the over-the-top Crappola that the military has become. Let us know how that pipe dream works out for you…Brown. How about applying the KISS rule in everything the military does, so the Fog of War will be easier to digest?
I don’t think General Brown has considered the need for a new uniform. More velcro, extra-reflective unit tabs, and a stricter curfew would help more than gym memberships and personal trainers.
Focus on physical training instead of physical conditioning. For instance, we are forced to run 3 days a week, week after week but hardly get time to improve our strength. Alternate run and strength training weeks. One mostly running week alternating with one mostly strength training week. Maybe the third will be focused on ruck marches gradually increasing distance every other day. 4, 8, 12 miles. This requires a reworking of the standard “PT hours”. If fitness was really taken seriously and to get soldiers motivated by morning PT you would make time to improve them. They are soldiers first, not employees that have to be at a job. Instead of 6:30 to 8, it could be 6:30-11:30 with a one hour breakfast break in the middle. I’m not advocating these hours every week or every day, but at least once a week. 12 miles is the standard for air assault school and under 3 hours for rangers. I believe the 5 mile run in under 40 minutes is an attainable goal. The goal should be to get everyone to the basic minimums of ranger school, which is not impossible. 49 pushups, 59 situps and 6 chin-ups. It requires PT leaders who can plan PT based on developing their soldiers to know what exercises will help them improve and how to properly recover between workouts. Every soldier should be able to go to any special school with physical requirements if they are required. Ok I understand that some may not be up to par and will require special attention. Give them that special attention by doing mandatory twice a day PT. Teach them how to eat properly. Show them how much money they can save and weight they will keep off if they make better choices. Then weigh and tape them monthly and say if you don’t improve then we can’t keep you. First lets implement an accurate body fat test.
GI Joe, that plan might be deemed racist, sexist, homophobic, or ageist in certain circles… 😉