News

Changes in winter fitness test schedule benefits Reservists

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nicole Celestine
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Strategic planner Byron Pulsifer once said, "To adapt, is to move ahead." Reservists may want to remember these words over the next four months while the administration of the new Air Force fitness assessment program, implemented July 1 at the 446th Airlift Wing, undergoes some changes to its winter schedule.

According to Lt. Col. Pat Kearney, 446th Airlift Wing inspection program manager, the Fitness Assessment Cell staff is working to accommodate a significantly high number of Airmen due to complete their fitness assessments between December 2010 and March 2011. The colonel, who managed the 446th AW fitness program from 2004 to 2009, said the trend can be attributed to three incidents.

"When news spread that the new test would run every six months, some Reservists took their tests in late 2009, essentially getting an entire year before they were due, in December," said the air reserve technician. "In the meantime, Reservists who failed their tests in July and August came due to retest in December. We then lost several days to run tests due to the snowstorm (Thanksgiving week), which caused more tests to be rescheduled in the winter."

Colonel Kearney said the Health and Wellness Center indoor track is used to administer fitness assessments in the winter, but because the track has only four lanes, only four Airmen can run at a time.

The FAC tests about 100 Reservists each Unit Training Assembly.

Capt. Vanessa Balint, the current wing fitness program manager, said administering any new program has its challenges and the new fitness assessment program is no exception. Regardless of the challenges, the responsibility to stay current on all mission ready requirements, including fitness, remains with Reservists.

The 446th Force Support Squadron operations officer also said, "Our fitness team anticipated the first year [of the fitness testing program's implementation] would be difficult. We're doing our best to streamline the process, but Reservists must check when their fitness tests are due, and talk to their supervisors and unit fitness program managers to schedule their tests early to ensure they remain current."

To reduce the backlog and to enable Reservists complete their tests on time, Captain Balint said the program will be tweaked in two ways. First, from January to March 2011, tests will be held at 9 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 1 p.m., during UTAs, in an attempt to overcome any cancellations due to cold weather. Second, Airmen set to deploy, attend formal school, go to a new base due to a Permanent Change of Station, complete their Officer or Enlisted Performance Reports, and retake tests after 90 days due to failures, will be given priority. "People can see changes to our fitness testing program due to the weather and its effect on our schedules," said Captain Balint. "We encourage Reservists to take ownership of managing their fitness test schedules to stay current, just as they would manage their medical and dental appointments, their computer-based training and other mandatory requirements."

Both officers advised Reservists to be proactive and encourage members to schedule their fitness tests with the active-duty FAC during the week, to help alleviate the winter season backlog on the UTA weekends. The fitness team expects that the schedule and testing process will stabilize after the winter season and outdoor testing is resumed at full capacity.