RAF Fitness Test - Soon to be twice a year!
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Comforting to see you have my welfare at heart Two's in but I don't wear vests (singlets we call em here). Never had a cough either, but the inconvenient shift pattern I could own up to in a previous life. 
You dont have that much admin trivia to deal with. What with this and thread on wearing civvies on Ops, maybe some people are being naughty and pretending to be in the RAF because I cant believe anyone in the RAF could moan so much.....................could they?
Can getting and staying fit be really such a bad thing?
And Serf, the reason people are whining about this is not that this, on its own, is a major inconvenience - it's just the latest in a long line of badly-thought-out and (more to the point) futile directives which combine to lower the quality of servicemen's lives while not making the service any better.
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The previous thread was here http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...t=fitness+test
This concerned the plan for 3 physical periods per week.
In that thread to issue was not whether one should be fit but how it was to be administered and where the slack would come from in the programme>
It was all very well saying do it in your own time but many wives see hubbies non-working time as their value time. They would see mandatory, out-of-working hours exercise as an infringement on their already limited face time with the hubby (or other half).
This concerned the plan for 3 physical periods per week.
In that thread to issue was not whether one should be fit but how it was to be administered and where the slack would come from in the programme>
It was all very well saying do it in your own time but many wives see hubbies non-working time as their value time. They would see mandatory, out-of-working hours exercise as an infringement on their already limited face time with the hubby (or other half).
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Same as 'get yer haircut'. Any discipline in today's forces requires mutual compliance by the majority. If a sqn chose not to comply they would charge the whole sqn? No way.
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Serf
I'd be interested to know what your acceptable level of trivia is and equally how you're able to comment on how much me and the rest of my sqn have got to deal with.
About six months ago, I heard CAS give a brief in which he encouraged us all to look to streamline process and identify any areas where we could streamline bureaucracy. The implication, from his own words, was that we would have his full support in attempts to change policy or process to achieve these aims.
Extra fitness tests won't make us more fit. Extra tests won't make us more deployable. Extra tests won't make our contribution to HERRICK/TELIC any more useful. All it does is increase the burden when we're at home unit. If you think that this is acceptable, then I suspect you're on a non-deployable unit and don't see the problems that ill-designed policy inflicts.
Incidentally, I count that I have 40 administrative and professional currencies with various periodicity, mostly annual. I'm sure other units have a whole lot more. When we're on Ops for the periods we are now, why-oh-why do we need any more hoops to jump through.
To all those saying "Just do what you're told" then again, you've missed the point. My CO gives me orders, I follow them, even if that's an order to do three fitness tests a year.
That doesn't mean I can't question a POLICY direction from further up the chain.
Fully supportive of keeping us all fit and active, but don't support more rubbish initiatives.
I'd be interested to know what your acceptable level of trivia is and equally how you're able to comment on how much me and the rest of my sqn have got to deal with.
About six months ago, I heard CAS give a brief in which he encouraged us all to look to streamline process and identify any areas where we could streamline bureaucracy. The implication, from his own words, was that we would have his full support in attempts to change policy or process to achieve these aims.
Extra fitness tests won't make us more fit. Extra tests won't make us more deployable. Extra tests won't make our contribution to HERRICK/TELIC any more useful. All it does is increase the burden when we're at home unit. If you think that this is acceptable, then I suspect you're on a non-deployable unit and don't see the problems that ill-designed policy inflicts.
Incidentally, I count that I have 40 administrative and professional currencies with various periodicity, mostly annual. I'm sure other units have a whole lot more. When we're on Ops for the periods we are now, why-oh-why do we need any more hoops to jump through.
To all those saying "Just do what you're told" then again, you've missed the point. My CO gives me orders, I follow them, even if that's an order to do three fitness tests a year.
That doesn't mean I can't question a POLICY direction from further up the chain.Fully supportive of keeping us all fit and active, but don't support more rubbish initiatives.
Last edited by rudekid; 5th Jul 2007 at 12:55. Reason: sp
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Guys, Guys,
Just get on with it. A break from the office should be just the ticket
. If you don't go - what are they going to do - shave your head and send you to war? Hmmm.
As has been posted before - doesn't matter how many times you get tested it's the standard set for the test - which by the way is far too low.
Do you remember all those course citiques you filled in? 'Great course but we needed earlier starts and more PT'
RL
Just get on with it. A break from the office should be just the ticket
. If you don't go - what are they going to do - shave your head and send you to war? Hmmm.As has been posted before - doesn't matter how many times you get tested it's the standard set for the test - which by the way is far too low.
Do you remember all those course citiques you filled in? 'Great course but we needed earlier starts and more PT'
RL
Melchett
Like your namesake, you miss the point. This isn't about the fitness. It's about extra admin and trivia. Re-read the thread.
Like your namesake, you miss the point. This isn't about the fitness. It's about extra admin and trivia. Re-read the thread.
If you really are so busy with duties that you really can't afford the extra half hour to get to the gym then maybe you should think again about the early Friday stack that everyone seems to take these days. And like I said, if it were AT or some other jolly they were trying to enforce, I don't think you would see to many people being too busy to do it then.
As for the extra admin - only if you're a PTI - all the rest of us have to do is turn up and beat the 20-somethings - hardly a difficult task. On both counts
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Melchett
I would concur completely. However...
We both know that in the ten (?) years of its existence, the gym and SHQ have never been fully able to communicate between themselves as to whether you have completed the test or not, leading to the multitude of phone calls, emails and general time wasting that happens when the inevitably incorrect COs s**t-list is published.
Given that most gyms run about two sessions a week for the RAFFT and that they can hardly cope now with the numbers of failures/remedials/enforced PT/Sqn PT/RI duties, I really don't think it'll be a case of just pitch up anytime for a test.
30 mins down the gym would, as you correctly state, be a piece of cake. I just don't think it'll be that easy and I don't see what benefits it gives. As I mentioned earlier, there'll be more ways to avoid it than roundabouts in Swindon, but my (and 99% of the rests) personal pride won't allow us to appear on that s**t list. So we'll be stuck with the extra admin, programmers will inevitably lose some flexibility and the whole system doesn't get improved one iota.
I repeat; it's not about fitness, it's about unneccessary admin.
I stand by to eat my Trilby should it be an unqualified success.
I would concur completely. However...
We both know that in the ten (?) years of its existence, the gym and SHQ have never been fully able to communicate between themselves as to whether you have completed the test or not, leading to the multitude of phone calls, emails and general time wasting that happens when the inevitably incorrect COs s**t-list is published.
Given that most gyms run about two sessions a week for the RAFFT and that they can hardly cope now with the numbers of failures/remedials/enforced PT/Sqn PT/RI duties, I really don't think it'll be a case of just pitch up anytime for a test.
30 mins down the gym would, as you correctly state, be a piece of cake. I just don't think it'll be that easy and I don't see what benefits it gives. As I mentioned earlier, there'll be more ways to avoid it than roundabouts in Swindon, but my (and 99% of the rests) personal pride won't allow us to appear on that s**t list. So we'll be stuck with the extra admin, programmers will inevitably lose some flexibility and the whole system doesn't get improved one iota.
I repeat; it's not about fitness, it's about unneccessary admin.
I stand by to eat my Trilby should it be an unqualified success.
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If I thought that questioning policy would change anything I would have a different view of many things. I believe that most of these RAF wide policies have been drafted, discussed and endorsed by the airships, incl the Air force Board and there cannot be any reversals due to complaint alone. However, questioning a dodgy directive spawned by your boss on the squadron is definitely worthwhile and might have some effect, otherwise lets just do what we are told.
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Rudekid: If you really are so busy with duties that you really can't afford the extra half hour to get to the gym then maybe you should think again about the early Friday stack that everyone seems to take these days.
IMHO you should do the tests at least once a week, you might just break out in a sweat then!!! Join Date: Apr 2006
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Maths Lesson
Perhaps a simple maths lesson is in order for their Airships.
Working on a session of PT leading to about 1.5 hrs away from the desk, 3 times a week equals 4.5 hrs in total.
Now just for arguments sake let us say the working week is 40 hrs (I know this varies greatly but I'm trying to keep it simple).
That means that we are required to be away from our primary roles for 11.25% of the time. Therefore we should see a corresponding 11.25% increase in the trained strength of the RAF - simple really.
Perhaps if this simple rule was applied every time those who are supposed to run things think of new and interesting ways to keep us from our jobs (extra AFTs, JPA claims, Force Development added on to CCS, etc...) then we wouldn't be so overstretched. In fact we would probably be back at our pre 'Options for Change' manpower levels.
Seems like common sense to me.
Bear
Working on a session of PT leading to about 1.5 hrs away from the desk, 3 times a week equals 4.5 hrs in total.
Now just for arguments sake let us say the working week is 40 hrs (I know this varies greatly but I'm trying to keep it simple).
That means that we are required to be away from our primary roles for 11.25% of the time. Therefore we should see a corresponding 11.25% increase in the trained strength of the RAF - simple really.
Perhaps if this simple rule was applied every time those who are supposed to run things think of new and interesting ways to keep us from our jobs (extra AFTs, JPA claims, Force Development added on to CCS, etc...) then we wouldn't be so overstretched. In fact we would probably be back at our pre 'Options for Change' manpower levels.
Seems like common sense to me.
Bear
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
I repeat; it's not about fitness, it's about unneccessary admin.
Over a year ago a SNCO had a sore arm and could not do the pressups so he didn't do the fitness test. Not only did he not do the test he didn't tell anyone. PRAT.
But . . .
The PEd wrote to OC AW (1). OC AW gives list the staish (2). Staish writes to SNCO (3) and is told by PSF that his threat is illegal (4). I write to OC AW to say idiot is on leave and will be seen to (5). OC AW writes to me and says do it (6). I do it. Man says he is sick so is sent to the Doc. (n). 15 months later he is still unfit, has still not done the FT but at least the paper tiger is now asleep.
Let the sqn cdr be rsponsible for the total fitness of his men. Let the sqn cdr take the flak if he doesn't get his men fit. An the fitness test? If the sqn can do its job.
That is any sqn not just a badged sqn. If SFUFF is sent OOA and unable to fill sand bags or whatever then he should be immediately RTU and that unit provide a LFF in his place. The subsequent sh1t would be highly directional.
L=lean
S=short
F1=fat
F2=fit
u=unfit
F=
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Fitness Tests
Perhaps some troublemaker should put in a FOI request for the fitness test records of the airships and where IS the gymnasium in Main Building - I think we should be told.