RAF Fitness Test - Soon to be twice a year!
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Scribbly dee
It gets more better!
Late 80's, the Staish decides he wants to win the Mounsey Trophy
Next day the PEd Flt SAMA went down? - so everybody has to do the swim test again
"But I did it last Friday"
"Doesn't count - get in the water, 12 of your best"
Pre, and post "crash?" results go to Cmnd - we win - he is now a AVM (Rtd)
What a funny old thing
It gets more better!
Late 80's, the Staish decides he wants to win the Mounsey Trophy
Next day the PEd Flt SAMA went down? - so everybody has to do the swim test again
"But I did it last Friday"
"Doesn't count - get in the water, 12 of your best"
Pre, and post "crash?" results go to Cmnd - we win - he is now a AVM (Rtd)
What a funny old thing
Join Date: Nov 2004
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To paraphrase...
'what combat unit ever passed an inspection (test)'.
'I'd rather have people feeling comfortable and doing their job than looking good'
'Toddbabe, take a f@cking speeling test before your next fitness test' (notice the aye-run-ee!)
'why should I be discriminated for being unfit, I like killing the enemy as much as the rest of them!'
'what combat unit ever passed an inspection (test)'.
'I'd rather have people feeling comfortable and doing their job than looking good'
'Toddbabe, take a f@cking speeling test before your next fitness test' (notice the aye-run-ee!)
'why should I be discriminated for being unfit, I like killing the enemy as much as the rest of them!'
PEdO and PTIs - show me your worth and engage us in something fun that works - it can be done.
Neither the PEdO nor the PTIs are the driving force introducing these performance indicators and extra assessments. Nor are they responsible for the farce that was the operational fitness test to say nothing of the issues they are having to face wrt Project ATHENA.
If you think that PEdOs and PTIs want to administer extra fitness tests then you are very much mistaken.
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Some of the things I have read here today are just unbelievable and quite frankly I think most of you are talking bollacks.
For example:
“No sir it is you who speaks b*ll*cks. I am a shift worker, and I cannot be excused work for routine appointments. All my colleagues are the same, and the majority of people on the stn, in other sections, also work shifts and also need to fit in their personal admin in their own time.”
Are you really trying to tell me that you cannot do any of these admin duties when you are on shift? You have to do it in your own time??. So how do non-shift workers do their admin chores? I think that if you cannot have a medical, pop up to PSF, DHE, Dental, Clothing Stores or carry out a fitness test during your time on shift, then you work on a crap Sqn/Section.
I cannot be bothered to reply to some of the other stupid comments here.
Younger people of the armed forces are more fitness oriented than us older generation. I can’t fault that. However, I do resent some of the comments being made about the older generation. At the end of the day we did our job well and we won.
Today everything is about a test. You can take a person who joined in the 70’s or 80’s. He may have been through the Cyprus problems, The Falklands War, GW1, Bosnia, Kosovo and many detachments all around the world. He did the business and he did it well. Slowly but surely as our tempo has increased following GW1. Over the years the 9 till 5ers have come out of the woodwork and “tested OUR ability to do OUR jobs”
A quick message to all those spouting on about the need for Politically Correct Fitness and especially those that have had a go at the older generation. Never forget that they have been there, seen it and done it and they did not need to be tested twice a year.
For example:
“No sir it is you who speaks b*ll*cks. I am a shift worker, and I cannot be excused work for routine appointments. All my colleagues are the same, and the majority of people on the stn, in other sections, also work shifts and also need to fit in their personal admin in their own time.”
Are you really trying to tell me that you cannot do any of these admin duties when you are on shift? You have to do it in your own time??. So how do non-shift workers do their admin chores? I think that if you cannot have a medical, pop up to PSF, DHE, Dental, Clothing Stores or carry out a fitness test during your time on shift, then you work on a crap Sqn/Section.
I cannot be bothered to reply to some of the other stupid comments here.
Younger people of the armed forces are more fitness oriented than us older generation. I can’t fault that. However, I do resent some of the comments being made about the older generation. At the end of the day we did our job well and we won.
Today everything is about a test. You can take a person who joined in the 70’s or 80’s. He may have been through the Cyprus problems, The Falklands War, GW1, Bosnia, Kosovo and many detachments all around the world. He did the business and he did it well. Slowly but surely as our tempo has increased following GW1. Over the years the 9 till 5ers have come out of the woodwork and “tested OUR ability to do OUR jobs”
A quick message to all those spouting on about the need for Politically Correct Fitness and especially those that have had a go at the older generation. Never forget that they have been there, seen it and done it and they did not need to be tested twice a year.
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SRENNAPS (and others)
The sort of shift work being talked about is:
RS15 on SAR
Manning Air Traffic
Maintaining the radar watch on UK Airspace
and so on.
All such shifts are manned on a digital basis - there is nobody spare to cover. You usually can't leave the building. In some jobs you cannot leave your post at all without a formal relief.
Please realise some of us just can't down tools and go do triv elsewhere.
The sort of shift work being talked about is:
RS15 on SAR
Manning Air Traffic
Maintaining the radar watch on UK Airspace
and so on.
All such shifts are manned on a digital basis - there is nobody spare to cover. You usually can't leave the building. In some jobs you cannot leave your post at all without a formal relief.
Please realise some of us just can't down tools and go do triv elsewhere.
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SRRENAPS,
if, as I suspect, you are saying that us old gits who 'have been there, got the T-shirt' and continue to get the 'T-shirts' are a bit fed up of coming home to be told that there are now an extra 10 PIs we have to meet, then I am with you. Just let us get on with it for F@cks sake.
if, as I suspect, you are saying that us old gits who 'have been there, got the T-shirt' and continue to get the 'T-shirts' are a bit fed up of coming home to be told that there are now an extra 10 PIs we have to meet, then I am with you. Just let us get on with it for F@cks sake.
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Sven Sixtoo,
I am happy to stand corrected with respect to that type of shift work.
However, in my experience the subsequent time off given following these awkward shift patterns have an element built in to allow admin tasks to be carried out. I also realise that things have changed over the years so this may not be the case now in certain jobs. But let’s face it the majority of the RAF can get the time off, during shift hours, to do admin.
Boot Flap,
That is exactly what I am trying to say.
It just annoys me when I see threads degenerate into a hate filled slagging match. We are all supposed to be on the same side.
I am happy to stand corrected with respect to that type of shift work.
However, in my experience the subsequent time off given following these awkward shift patterns have an element built in to allow admin tasks to be carried out. I also realise that things have changed over the years so this may not be the case now in certain jobs. But let’s face it the majority of the RAF can get the time off, during shift hours, to do admin.
Boot Flap,
That is exactly what I am trying to say.
It just annoys me when I see threads degenerate into a hate filled slagging match. We are all supposed to be on the same side.
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It won't be as of 1 Oct.
There will be a few changes to RAFFT but largely not till 1 Apr 08. Details are with Stn Cdrs at the moment, I believe.
With regards to the twice yearly RAFFT: The aim of the RAFFT is pure and simple to encourage personnel to train regularly. Research quite clearly demonstrates that people who exercise regularly are more healthy, have less time off sick, less chance of diabetes, cancer, and the biggest killer in the UK coronary heart disease.
It was felt that current standards and frequency were not enough to encourage everyone to exercise regularly. In other words you could pass it once a year without having to do any exercise. If standards alone were raised, people could exercise for a couple of weeks before it and then go back to not exercising again. Theb twice yearly test is an attempt to stop this. I appreciate that individuals can still exercise in prep for two tests and then stop, but there has to be a line...! And this line does indeed coincide with the twice yearly Personal Fitness Test that Army personnel do.
To answer the original question, yes there will be some additional workload for us. Additional JPA input, creating lists for OC xxx and very probably a large increase in failures, at least to begin with, to name but a few, but that's for us to whinge and worry about.
And I guess there will be extra burden for you as well. I hear the comments about getting time off and admin burden etc but in the last 20 or so years, I have often seen the same sections run by different Bosses go from 'not being able to do any fitness training as they are too busy' to 100% RAFFT rates and/ or winning the CO's Cup. I agree there are some jobs where time off is impossible, but I think these are few in number, and too often it is used as an excuse by those who don't want to exercise. As another example: last 3 Stn Cdrs at my current unit (ie same job): current one exercises regularly, predecessor too busy, one before that exercised regularly.
MM
There will be a few changes to RAFFT but largely not till 1 Apr 08. Details are with Stn Cdrs at the moment, I believe.
With regards to the twice yearly RAFFT: The aim of the RAFFT is pure and simple to encourage personnel to train regularly. Research quite clearly demonstrates that people who exercise regularly are more healthy, have less time off sick, less chance of diabetes, cancer, and the biggest killer in the UK coronary heart disease.
It was felt that current standards and frequency were not enough to encourage everyone to exercise regularly. In other words you could pass it once a year without having to do any exercise. If standards alone were raised, people could exercise for a couple of weeks before it and then go back to not exercising again. Theb twice yearly test is an attempt to stop this. I appreciate that individuals can still exercise in prep for two tests and then stop, but there has to be a line...! And this line does indeed coincide with the twice yearly Personal Fitness Test that Army personnel do.
To answer the original question, yes there will be some additional workload for us. Additional JPA input, creating lists for OC xxx and very probably a large increase in failures, at least to begin with, to name but a few, but that's for us to whinge and worry about.
And I guess there will be extra burden for you as well. I hear the comments about getting time off and admin burden etc but in the last 20 or so years, I have often seen the same sections run by different Bosses go from 'not being able to do any fitness training as they are too busy' to 100% RAFFT rates and/ or winning the CO's Cup. I agree there are some jobs where time off is impossible, but I think these are few in number, and too often it is used as an excuse by those who don't want to exercise. As another example: last 3 Stn Cdrs at my current unit (ie same job): current one exercises regularly, predecessor too busy, one before that exercised regularly.
MM
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Sven sixtoo those trades that you just described account for about 1% of the RAF's total manpower! that aside the SAR boys although stretched at the moment do still get excellent shifts and manage a lot of time off over the space of a year! Air trafficers don't just sit in the tower all the time in the same way that my working week isn't spent entirely flying, and whilst I don't know a lot about Scopies am pretty sure they must get lunch breaks and admin breaks!
The point I am making is that although getting to the gym is obviously more difficult for some more than others, you CAN if you want to or HAVE TO get down there, the fact is that some people would rather find excuses to not go.
And as for not being able to get around the station for duty appointments, well I am afraid that is a pile of horse!
The point I am making is that although getting to the gym is obviously more difficult for some more than others, you CAN if you want to or HAVE TO get down there, the fact is that some people would rather find excuses to not go.
And as for not being able to get around the station for duty appointments, well I am afraid that is a pile of horse!
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musclemech,
Am I to understand that this extra fitness test is to encourage me to be healthier and better exercised so I don't get heart disease? If so, that's very gallant, but surely the RAF should only be interested in whether or not I'm fit enough to do my job?
Am I to understand that this extra fitness test is to encourage me to be healthier and better exercised so I don't get heart disease? If so, that's very gallant, but surely the RAF should only be interested in whether or not I'm fit enough to do my job?
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PMAT
Although the RAF might be interested in you being fit to do your job, it is very difficult to test whether you are or not, as the concept of fitness is too specific. A clerk needs a different type of fitness than an armourer; a pilot a different type of fitness than a JEngO; even a FJ pilot needs a different fitness than an AT pilot. The OFA was an attempt to find tasks that could be done by everyone ie on ops and then test them specifically and that turned out to be extremely difficult to do.
No, the RAFFT was introduced for the reasons I mention above. It is a health based test and nothing whatsoever to do with fitness to serve, operate or any other task (This, I think, will be written on my headstone!!).
In theory to pass the test you should have to exercise regularly. If you do you gain health wise (see previous post) and that was the basis upon which the RAFFT was introduced. Obviously the RAF benefits to a certain extent as those who exercise regularly have less time off sick and are more productive etc but the main thrust behind the introduction was for the health benefits to the individual.
MM
Although the RAF might be interested in you being fit to do your job, it is very difficult to test whether you are or not, as the concept of fitness is too specific. A clerk needs a different type of fitness than an armourer; a pilot a different type of fitness than a JEngO; even a FJ pilot needs a different fitness than an AT pilot. The OFA was an attempt to find tasks that could be done by everyone ie on ops and then test them specifically and that turned out to be extremely difficult to do.
No, the RAFFT was introduced for the reasons I mention above. It is a health based test and nothing whatsoever to do with fitness to serve, operate or any other task (This, I think, will be written on my headstone!!).
In theory to pass the test you should have to exercise regularly. If you do you gain health wise (see previous post) and that was the basis upon which the RAFFT was introduced. Obviously the RAF benefits to a certain extent as those who exercise regularly have less time off sick and are more productive etc but the main thrust behind the introduction was for the health benefits to the individual.
MM
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PMA's toy have you not heard the terms "Investors in people" or "Duty of care"? The RAF does care that you are fit enough to do your job but as stated can't differentiate between trades except for RAF Reg (BFT) or whatever they call it nowadays, so they expect their men (and women!) to attain a certain basic level of fitness, not a high level mind! just a level that indicates that you aren't a total biff, imagine for one second in todays litigious society if Sqn Ldr fatty falls and breaks his leg doing some physical exercise! off to court he could go saying "well I haven't been cleared for this or that and haven't been tested to say I am fit enough" you may laugh but this could easily happen.
The Armed Services in which we serve require us to be phsically fit FACT, Those levels are in my opinion not nearly high enough, but my opinion unfortunately counts for nothing, however The RAF IS raising it levels and the penalties for failiure are going to be harsher and more stringently enforced, to succesfully and fairly enforce the higher levels before action can be taken subjects must be given reasonable opportunity to attain the new levels, and like your supposedly mandatory mid term appraisal for you assesments an extra fitness test may well be the way to do this!
The extra test if in fact it ever happens (probably not) could be a good performance indicator to the subject and P'ed staff to tailor their training before the real annual pass or fail test, personally I see no need and would happily be tested any time of the year but in todays caring, sharing, tree hugger world the powers that be have to be seen to do everything they can to ensure that they are not in any way neglegent.
Get used to it extra test or not the RAF has finally realised that it's people aren't fit enough and by hook or by crook they seem determined to change it
The Armed Services in which we serve require us to be phsically fit FACT, Those levels are in my opinion not nearly high enough, but my opinion unfortunately counts for nothing, however The RAF IS raising it levels and the penalties for failiure are going to be harsher and more stringently enforced, to succesfully and fairly enforce the higher levels before action can be taken subjects must be given reasonable opportunity to attain the new levels, and like your supposedly mandatory mid term appraisal for you assesments an extra fitness test may well be the way to do this!
The extra test if in fact it ever happens (probably not) could be a good performance indicator to the subject and P'ed staff to tailor their training before the real annual pass or fail test, personally I see no need and would happily be tested any time of the year but in todays caring, sharing, tree hugger world the powers that be have to be seen to do everything they can to ensure that they are not in any way neglegent.
Get used to it extra test or not the RAF has finally realised that it's people aren't fit enough and by hook or by crook they seem determined to change it
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Obviously the RAF benefits to a certain extent as those who exercise regularly have less time off sick and are more productive
the penalties for failiure are going to be harsher and more stringently enforced
my opinion unfortunately counts for nothing
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"No they aren't. Not whilst there are different standards for males and females - this amounts to gender discrimination, which the MoD has, in its wisdom, decided not to exempt the armed forces from. If a bloke can pass the (currently pathetic) fermale standard, but fails to make the male standard, any sanction imposed would be unlawful."
MM
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As for sanctions? What would be effective?
These are likely to have some impact on an individual's career and so are generally effective if they are followed through (whether they are or not is a different thread entirely). I have heard of one person who has or is about to be admin discharged, but my experience is that when applied properly, the sanctions are effective.
Indeed if they do do extra duties effectively it rather proves they are fit for the job.
MM
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Air trafficers don't just sit in the tower all the time
"With regards to the twice yearly RAFFT: The aim of the RAFFT is pure and simple to encourage personnel to train regularly. Research quite clearly demonstrates that people who exercise regularly are more healthy, have less time off sick, less chance of diabetes, cancer, and the biggest killer in the UK coronary heart disease."
Well, sorry, but I reckon that's utter bolleaux. Because back in the more gentlemanly days of the 70s and 80s when very few aircrew indeed committed jockstrappery, we were hardly dropping like flies. And the only people who were off sick regularly were the jockstrappers.
Well, sorry, but I reckon that's utter bolleaux. Because back in the more gentlemanly days of the 70s and 80s when very few aircrew indeed committed jockstrappery, we were hardly dropping like flies. And the only people who were off sick regularly were the jockstrappers.
Honestly, you folk with your "penalise the failures" attitude Think positive. The RSAF (that's the singaporean variety!) take an annual personal fitness test (a mile and a half or so) and have various levels of achievement.
"Fail" leads to remedial PT for said individual at least 4 times a week until required standard is met.
"Bronze" level is the basic pass, wonderful, fit for duty well done.
"silver" level is a quicker time than "Bronze" and said individual is rewarded for his/her attitude towards his personal fitness with $100 of your finest singaporean beer chits.
"Gold" is a quicker still time (the level required for this is pretty good, around the 9min 15 mark) and results in $200! Now that's incentive to get fit... especially if you're doing the test twice a year
Think positive. The RSAF (that's the singaporean variety!) take an annual personal fitness test (a mile and a half or so) and have various levels of achievement. "Fail" leads to remedial PT for said individual at least 4 times a week until required standard is met.
"Bronze" level is the basic pass, wonderful, fit for duty well done.
"silver" level is a quicker time than "Bronze" and said individual is rewarded for his/her attitude towards his personal fitness with $100 of your finest singaporean beer chits.
"Gold" is a quicker still time (the level required for this is pretty good, around the 9min 15 mark) and results in $200! Now that's incentive to get fit... especially if you're doing the test twice a year