I thought you might get a kick out of this....Marines are going to be getting kicked out like crazy as the result of this new policy. *I did a search and it didn't turn up any results and thought that this would be the appropriate area to post this information. ~R~
Yeah, like they have the luxury of booting people right now........... Damn lucky to have people willing to even join.
Of all the services, IMHO, the Marine Corps does the best in creating a culture of staying in shape without resorting to letters like that.
Which raises a question that I have often wondered about.... Are there guys that get fat once they have become aviators?? I realize that there are limits to size but its pretty natural to pack on a few every year as you get older.
I agree. I must shake my head in disgust at the navy though. What a bunch of gooey fat slobs I see walking around. I think the navy could use a change in policy like this. For Pete's sake it's the military. air WARRIORS dot com. Not to say that any of YOU guys are fat. I'm sure you're all ripped to shreds, but some of the guys I see walking around town are an embarrassment to the uniform. Good job Marine Corps.
I disagree. Navy pulled the same crap in 1986. If you go by the tables listed in this letter, I wonder how many professional athletes couldn't be Marines. I've always felt that stuff like this should be performance based, not appearance based.
It's Aye, Aye, Sir. Ay was the penultimate Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's 18th dynasty. His birth name Ay it-hetjer reads as "Ay, Father of the God." Aye, Aye sir means I hear the command, I understand it, and will obey it, Sir.
I agree! I'm 6'3" and 240lbs. which by Navy standards puts me at 19% BF, but I score excellents on my PRT's, and I see guys 5 or 6 years younger than me that look to be in better shape who are on FEP because they can't run 1.5 miles in less than 12 minutes! But yet I AM considered the "fat one" :icon_rage
It's always funny to see the "jellybag bags of donuts" beating the average teenager, but it all really comes down to motivation.
I was in the same situation. 6'-2" 238 lbs. and could torque an SH-3 Main Gear Box by myself, but because of the measurement tables they used I was considered fat. I actually had to log so much time per week in the gym or running on the flight deck with my Div-O. Didn't matter that I maxed the PT test each year or could run the length of the Forrestal lugging a full PON-6 and a 10 point tiedown. All they were concerned with was appearance. I'd like to come back at them for my trashed knees from all of that running on steel.
There seems to be a similar thing going on for Navy officers as well. They've re-instituted the service record picture. I have a feeling if you look bad in your uniform, goodbye department head, or whatever you're up for. There's already a post about that somewhere in AW. I know this thread's about USMC.
OK, I agree, performance is important. I would rather have an overweight killer next to me in battle than a fit looking pansy that can't pull his own load. Point taken. However, appearances are also important and are (IMHO) an integral part of military bearing. More often than not the fat bastard will be outperformed by the lean and mean stud. The reverse to this is the exception, not the rule.
The CFT will not improve the Physical fitness standards of Corps, but it will make PFTs an all day event, take away the ability to do individual PFTs as individuals are IA'd/ deployed/ transferred, etc. Doesn't look to be all that difficult, but just an extra pain in the butt, taking more time out of an already busy schedule. My .02c I do know that somehow embedded in this was the fact that many Marines weren't making weight, while being in outstanding physical shape, so hopefully the body fat measuring process will be fixed. Always seems to screw over the gym rats.
Sweeping changes always seem to end up that way...SSDD. I have a sneaking suspicion that a huge portion of all this emphasis on body weight and physical fitness in both USMC and the USN (we can't tell you not to smoke, but we highly discourage it) stems from the high cost of health care, not necessarily active duty, but for all the retirees. If the Navy can convince you to lose weight and keep it off with a culture of fitness, stop smoking, and wear double hearing protection, in a few years they'll have a lot less diabetes cases (and all the other health problems associated with obesity), lung cancer cases, and hearing aid issues to deal with, which means less money spent on healthcare. Like I said, no numbers to back it up...just a "hunch".
