Peacetime Physical Fitness and its Effect on Combat Readiness: An Air Force Perspective

America is rapidly becoming a nation of soft, out of shape men and women who can not endure, for an hour, the kind of stress that our ancestors faced daily. Today, the typical American is older physically than years give him the right to be. Fitness in the military is a time-honored and unquestionable axiom. Yet, there is little objective knowledge as to what criteria of fitness are necessary to maintain combat readiness. More than ten years ago it became apparent that, from a physical fitnesshealthy lifestyle perspective, the military was not in an optimal readiness posture. In February 1980, the President requested the Secretary of Defense provide him an assessment of the Services physical fitness programs. This request led to a Department of Defense symposium on military fitness in June 1980. The symposium reviewed existing fitness policies and programs. The result of the symposium, was a revised DOD directive 1308.1 Physical Fitness and Weight Control. Was this enough Are the current peacetime physical fitness programs effective Do they adequately prepare our military to withstand the rigors of combat This individual study project reviews these and other questions about the services peacetime physical fitness programs. Fitness is defined, guidance is reviewed, current efforts are analyzed to determine their validity, and recommendations are provided --- all from an Air Force perspective.