- Reaction score
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- Points
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Report in today's Canoe News, (emphsis mine)
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/11/04/pf-4630590.html
National military physical-fitness test fails 1,000 people: report
By Dean Beeby, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - More than 1,000 military members flunked the first national physical fitness test the Canadian Forces have conducted in a decade, a newly released report shows.
The failures are a fraction of the 47,000 enlisted men and women who passed the basic four-part test in 2006-07 under orders from Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff.
But the demographics of those unfit members point to potential problem areas, such as the navy where the flunk rate was significantly higher than that of the military as a whole.
The report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, shows 286 sailors failed to make the grade.
Most of those - 159 men and women - were stationed at Canada's Pacific naval base in Esquimalt, B.C., for a failure rate of 4.6 per cent, or more than twice the national rate for all services.
The East Coast base at Halifax, with 134 failures, recorded a flunk rate of 2.4 per cent by comparison, closer to the national rate of 2.2 per cent.
The detailed statistical report provides numbers only, without any analysis of the results.
The tests, conducted through the year that ended March 31, consist of a so-called shuttle run, pushups, sit-ups and a handgrip strength section.
Standards are based on age and gender, so a male under age 35 must do 19 pushups, for example, while a woman in the same age bracket must do nine. A male over 35 years of age must do 17 sit-ups, while his female counterpart must do 12.
The 30-minute fitness test, in place since 1990, is designed to predict whether serving members can carry out five basic military tasks, including digging a trench and hauling a sandbag.
A few professions in the military, including members of the JTF-2 special forces, are required to meet tougher fitness standards. And members who voluntarily demonstrate a higher level of fitness can be given an exemption from the following year's test.
Hillier, a trim running enthusiast, launched a campaign in December 2005 to build a strong fitness culture in the forces and to do baseline testing of every member. National testing had lapsed in the mid-1990s.
The new results suggest a relatively fit military, though almost 1,300 were excused from testing for medical reasons and another 15,000 remained untested for various reasons, including overseas postings.
Among the somewhat poorer performers in the new report were master warrant officers, sometimes called the backbone of the army. Fifty-three of the 1,408 who were tested flunked, for a failure rate of 3.8 per cent, the highest of all the non-reserve ranks.
None of the 80 officers in ranks higher than colonel flunked. Failure rates were somewhat higher among those over age 55, and women had a slightly higher failure rate than men. Members stuck pushing pencils at headquarters were also somewhat less fit.
Army members were the most fit of all the three services, followed by the air force.
"The failure rate is not a huge issue," said Marie Danais, the civilian who's in charge of physical fitness programs across the military. "It's not a big number."
"I'm pretty sure Canadian Forces members are a lot fitter than the general population."
If a member fails the fitness test, he or she has as many as four chances over 48 weeks to make the grade or face sanctions, including dismissal. But since 1998, only eight people have been released because they could not meet fitness standards, said spokesman Lieut. Desmond James.
"We're in the military - we have to keep ourselves in shape."
Danais said annual testing is only one element of fostering a fitness culture in the military.
"We want to focus on people going into the gym," she said in an interview, adding the Canadian Forces aim to reduce failure rates for next year's report.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/11/04/pf-4630590.html
National military physical-fitness test fails 1,000 people: report
By Dean Beeby, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - More than 1,000 military members flunked the first national physical fitness test the Canadian Forces have conducted in a decade, a newly released report shows.
The failures are a fraction of the 47,000 enlisted men and women who passed the basic four-part test in 2006-07 under orders from Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff.
But the demographics of those unfit members point to potential problem areas, such as the navy where the flunk rate was significantly higher than that of the military as a whole.
The report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, shows 286 sailors failed to make the grade.
Most of those - 159 men and women - were stationed at Canada's Pacific naval base in Esquimalt, B.C., for a failure rate of 4.6 per cent, or more than twice the national rate for all services.
The East Coast base at Halifax, with 134 failures, recorded a flunk rate of 2.4 per cent by comparison, closer to the national rate of 2.2 per cent.
The detailed statistical report provides numbers only, without any analysis of the results.
The tests, conducted through the year that ended March 31, consist of a so-called shuttle run, pushups, sit-ups and a handgrip strength section.
Standards are based on age and gender, so a male under age 35 must do 19 pushups, for example, while a woman in the same age bracket must do nine. A male over 35 years of age must do 17 sit-ups, while his female counterpart must do 12.
The 30-minute fitness test, in place since 1990, is designed to predict whether serving members can carry out five basic military tasks, including digging a trench and hauling a sandbag.
A few professions in the military, including members of the JTF-2 special forces, are required to meet tougher fitness standards. And members who voluntarily demonstrate a higher level of fitness can be given an exemption from the following year's test.
Hillier, a trim running enthusiast, launched a campaign in December 2005 to build a strong fitness culture in the forces and to do baseline testing of every member. National testing had lapsed in the mid-1990s.
The new results suggest a relatively fit military, though almost 1,300 were excused from testing for medical reasons and another 15,000 remained untested for various reasons, including overseas postings.
Among the somewhat poorer performers in the new report were master warrant officers, sometimes called the backbone of the army. Fifty-three of the 1,408 who were tested flunked, for a failure rate of 3.8 per cent, the highest of all the non-reserve ranks.
None of the 80 officers in ranks higher than colonel flunked. Failure rates were somewhat higher among those over age 55, and women had a slightly higher failure rate than men. Members stuck pushing pencils at headquarters were also somewhat less fit.
Army members were the most fit of all the three services, followed by the air force.
"The failure rate is not a huge issue," said Marie Danais, the civilian who's in charge of physical fitness programs across the military. "It's not a big number."
"I'm pretty sure Canadian Forces members are a lot fitter than the general population."
If a member fails the fitness test, he or she has as many as four chances over 48 weeks to make the grade or face sanctions, including dismissal. But since 1998, only eight people have been released because they could not meet fitness standards, said spokesman Lieut. Desmond James.
"We're in the military - we have to keep ourselves in shape."
Danais said annual testing is only one element of fostering a fitness culture in the military.
"We want to focus on people going into the gym," she said in an interview, adding the Canadian Forces aim to reduce failure rates for next year's report.
Absolutely, if someone ha been injured and can still contribute to us, keep them in uniform. However, If you've never been categorised, you perform to the basic standard.
