Army Focuses On Getting Rid of Overweight Troops
If you are someone who is borderline on the tape test the Army is currently focusing on getting rid of you regardless of how fit you are:
Faced with a $37 billion budget shortfall and a significant reduction in troops, the Army is “trimming the fat” by reinstating a program that sends home soldiers who fail to meet body-fat standards, Fort Gordon officials said this week.
The Pentagon revised its body-fat regulations last month in an attempt to “return to the basics” and build a “leaner and meaner force” that includes only soldiers in peak physical condition, said Master Sgt. Christopher Wallace, the training coordinator for the Signal Corps’ Regimental Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
Though height and weight requirements remain unchanged, the Body Composition Program gives commanders the power to flag overweight soldiers and require them to see a dietician, develop an action plan and go through monthly assessments.
The Army was more lenient when soldiers were needed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Wallace said, and overseas command stations did not provide adequate space for troops to exercise.
Now, the Army wants “top-notch recruits who meet and beat the standard, instead of just barely making it,” Wallace said.
First Sgt. Roberto Berry, the head of the NCO Academy at Fort Gordon, said the Army began phasing in changes in November. Looming ahead were sequestration, which left a $37 billion hole in the Defense Department’s budget, and news that troop levels would be cut by 80,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal year 2017. [The Augusta Chronicle]
You can read more at the link.
“said Master Sgt. Christopher Wallace, the training coordinator for the Signal Corps’”
F**king Signal… why anyone listens to people who still think of themselves as Signaleers is beyond me. Probably the worst corp in the Army.
So is the tape test going to be a “tool” or a “weapon”? I know guys who could not pass a weight check, who are weight lifters and had less body fat than I did although I passed the weight check easily, have a thin build and not having a lot of muscle mass. I have a friend who is now retired from the reserves, who as he got older also built up muscle mass in his civilian job as a firefighter and lost fat, to the point he could not pass the weight check. In all 3 of these cases the guys could pass a tape test without an issue, but if they were under tough (or vindictive) commanders, they could be flagged or I suppose depending on how the reg was read be discharged for being overweight. Even in the 1980s it was obvious the height/weight charts were way off, I’m sure 25 years has not improved anything.
If the Army is serious then about 75% of Yongsan’s assigned soldiers are going to be chaptered…..
The army is looking to return to pre-WW2 staffing levels…