Here's the thing: the Navy can't seem to articulate what kind of fitness they want to test and why. The arguments on this thread alone show that there's wildly differing definitons of what constitutes 'fit'. Upper-body? Cardio-endurance? Core? And to what purpose? Why you're testing should drive the conditions of the test, right?
A PFT should determine whether you're capable of physically performing a basic job set. The Marines hold themselves to the 'every Marine a rifleman' standard. Seems to me, any sailor should be able to perform any physically demanding shipboard duty, e.g., fighting a fire, damage control, survival swimming, etc. The current PFT mostly seems to exist for the sake of having one.
General health and body composition (i.e., looking sharp in uniform) are supposed to be tested by the BCA. Why isn't that done by the Medical guys? They're supposed to be measuring your height-weight every year at your PHA anyway. If you need to get taped, I'd rather have a more accurate test (calipers, or whatever), done by a corpsman who does it regularly, than the damn tape run by a random dude in the squadron who may or may not remember how to do it.
A PFT should determine whether you're capable of physically performing a basic job set. The Marines hold themselves to the 'every Marine a rifleman' standard. Seems to me, any sailor should be able to perform any physically demanding shipboard duty, e.g., fighting a fire, damage control, survival swimming, etc. The current PFT mostly seems to exist for the sake of having one.
General health and body composition (i.e., looking sharp in uniform) are supposed to be tested by the BCA. Why isn't that done by the Medical guys? They're supposed to be measuring your height-weight every year at your PHA anyway. If you need to get taped, I'd rather have a more accurate test (calipers, or whatever), done by a corpsman who does it regularly, than the damn tape run by a random dude in the squadron who may or may not remember how to do it.