To Whom It May Concern

Military Changing For The Worse

Yes, I know, two days, two posts, wtf is going on? Well, anyways... as usual I have so much important stuff to say, figured I'd actually post it here.

Yesterday marked the 19th anniversary of my induction into the military, on December 9th, 1989, I stood up and said an oath to protect the United States, yada yada yada, scared out of my mind, a 17 year old completely unsure as to what was going on.

A lot has changed over the years. When I first joined, I hated the military. Coming from a farming background, I was used to "do your job, then go take a nap or do whatever", so the idea of "hurry up and wait", a common phrase that pretty much describes about 90% of what we do, was so foreign to me and depressing. Fast forward to the present, and I am now working as an active duty member of the military. I would have never in a million years have guessed this is where I would be.

I have always prided myself both on personal appearance, as in wear of the uniform, and relatedly, my ability to max the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). When I joined, to max the APFT, you had to do 82 pushups in 2 minutes, 92 situps in 2 minutes, and run the 2 mile in 11:57. The minimum standards were 42 pushups, 52 situps, and the 2 mile in around 15 minutes. I didn't have much upper body at the age of 17, and at the reception station at Ft Benning, Georgia, to move to the next step of training you had to do 15 pushups. I was only able to do 12.

Yes, pretty pathetic. But, I did the 92 situps and ran the run in about 11:30, so the drill instructors sent me on my way to Sand Hill, Infantry School, figuring that I would gain the necessary strength through my training to pass the pushups. It took most of the 3 months I was there, including a drill instructor who took me under his wing so to speak, when he wasn't chewing my ass non stop he showed me some key points to help me gain upper body strength and slowly increase the number of pushups I could do. I passed the PT test only one time at basic training, the very last test, which was for record, so that was all I needed, 52 pushups and I was on my way.

Within 2 years I was maxing the pushups along with the situps and the run, and I've done that constantly for the last 14 years. Physical fitness is a HUGE part of what we do in the military, and it is extremely important. I do not want to haul an overweight solder out of a burning truck, and much the same, if I get shot on the battlefield, I do not want some fat bastard with no stamina to be backing me up, trying to carry me to safety. To me it is ridiculous, if you are in the military, that you do not take care of your body by running at least 3 times a week for 45 minutes, and doing pushups and situps (at the very least) 3 times a week for 15 minutes a session. That is ALL it takes!

So I was pretty happy in October when our senior course manager SFC for our section mandated 3 day a week PT, 0730 to 0900, monday wednesday friday, for everyone to do. And everyone did it, for about the first 3 weeks or so. Then the fat bodies started to drop away from doing it, and now they never do it, which is a bunch of bullshit, because they are the ones that need it most of all. Not only that, but we were told we could work out 5 days a week, if we wanted, as long as there wasn't something that really HAD to be done, and one particular fat body, another SFC, is butting heads with the senior course manager, and trying to tell everyone they are NOT allowed to do PT on tuesdays and thursdays. Not coincidently he is one of the fat asses that never does PT.

And as if that isn't bad enough, he talked the course manager into forcing us to be done with PT by 0830 instead of 0900, severely impeding on those of us who enjoy running. We complained about it, and got it changed to 0845, but it is still frustrating as hell, especially considering that there is nothing so incredibly important to do right now that requires us to be there that early in the morning on any of those days.

I guess this is just what the military is getting to, not just on the lowest level, but the entire Army fails to recognize the important of basic soldiering skills, be it PT, marksmanship, land navagation, you name it. And they'll promote someone who can't make weight, and/or can't pass the PT test, to an E-5 Sergeant, AND they will allow them to complete the school (albeit with a marginal note on the paperwork DD 1059). How lovely is that? Our future leaders in the military, the most hands on NCO's, the E-5's, who can't even pass the PT test or make weight themselves, way to lead by example there, Army, bravo!!!

The Army gives out stupid uniform pins for all sorts of things, basic shit that medics get, recruiters get special patches, but maxing the PT test, you get nothing for your combat uniform to show you are exceptionally fit, all you get is an iron on badge for your PT uniform. To me that is ridiculous, there should be some sort of recognition for those who max the PT text to wear on their duty uniform, hell they have enough velcro on them to allow it, that is for sure.

Blah, if I get more into this I'll be writing all night. Suffice to say, I get very irritated with people who do not take care of themselves physically, and make excuses for it, or just don't care.