RAF Fitness Test - Soon to be twice a year!
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I realize that this is a topic where everyone has a strong opinion, whatever view you side on.
On a personal note, I am physically fit and do my own training where I live, which is away from my place of work. My main gripe is that I have been told to attend fitness training at my station while I am 'off shift'. This training is held a couple of hours before the start of a late shift at work.
So my question is..... Do permanent day workers do their compulsory PT training before they start work, after they finish or on a weekend?
Why do I get the feeling the answer is going to be - 'In work time' !!
On a personal note, I am physically fit and do my own training where I live, which is away from my place of work. My main gripe is that I have been told to attend fitness training at my station while I am 'off shift'. This training is held a couple of hours before the start of a late shift at work.
So my question is..... Do permanent day workers do their compulsory PT training before they start work, after they finish or on a weekend?
Why do I get the feeling the answer is going to be - 'In work time' !!
In the good old days before such unseemly jockstrappery, the Stn Cdr of an Oxonian transport base decided that fitness was A Good Thing. So he ordained that everyone was to complete X number of laps of the station sports field.
This went down without a murmur amongst the wily old Specialist Aircrew gents.
Come the day and some gym queen with a whistle blew it. One or two racing snakes hurtled into the distance....
Then along came the truckies, having been shown where the sports field actually was. Complete with walking sticks, dogs, pipes etc. They ambled gently along, stopping now and again to chat with eachother as befits gentlemen out for a country stroll in a 'Last of the Summer Wine' style.
After a suitable interval, the sweaty racing snakes came sprinting in, having duly covered however many laps it was.
But over an hour later, the last of the truckies finally crossed the line for the last time - then they all raised their flat caps to the purple-faced Stn Cdr and pottered off to the Officers' Mess for a beer.
Old age and treachery - you can't beat it!
This went down without a murmur amongst the wily old Specialist Aircrew gents.
Come the day and some gym queen with a whistle blew it. One or two racing snakes hurtled into the distance....
Then along came the truckies, having been shown where the sports field actually was. Complete with walking sticks, dogs, pipes etc. They ambled gently along, stopping now and again to chat with eachother as befits gentlemen out for a country stroll in a 'Last of the Summer Wine' style.
After a suitable interval, the sweaty racing snakes came sprinting in, having duly covered however many laps it was.
But over an hour later, the last of the truckies finally crossed the line for the last time - then they all raised their flat caps to the purple-faced Stn Cdr and pottered off to the Officers' Mess for a beer.
Old age and treachery - you can't beat it!
Join Date: May 2006
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Some of the lads from 3 Sqn demonstrating the importance of all this only yesterday:
From the MODWEB;
Clearly one needs to be athletic for all that running, diving, jumping and strapping.
From the MODWEB;
RAF Coningsby today saw the crew from No 3 (Fighter) Squadron scrambled as if responding to a call from the government that there was an aircraft acting suspiciously in UK airspace. Squadron Leader Paul Smith was at the controls and was seen running to his aircraft as the klaxon alert sounded.
He dived into the Hardened Aircraft Shelter (HAS) where his aircraft stood waiting, jumped into the cockpit and strapped in. Meanwhile his ground crew made the final fuselage and electrical checks before the aircraft roared into the air - just four minutes after the call to deploy was made
He dived into the Hardened Aircraft Shelter (HAS) where his aircraft stood waiting, jumped into the cockpit and strapped in. Meanwhile his ground crew made the final fuselage and electrical checks before the aircraft roared into the air - just four minutes after the call to deploy was made
Thread OFF
Why not reduce the distance that said heroic quartet have to run to the aircraft by either having the crewroom/ready room inside the HAS, or (better) parking the aircraft outside (weather permitting)? Would be mighty embarrassing if the HAS doors jammed etc etc...
Thread ON
Why not reduce the distance that said heroic quartet have to run to the aircraft by either having the crewroom/ready room inside the HAS, or (better) parking the aircraft outside (weather permitting)? Would be mighty embarrassing if the HAS doors jammed etc etc...
Thread ON
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TOTD, oh come on. Its a PR shot.
We once had a PR shoot of a Vulcan crew responding to an alert. The crew 'hid' round the corner in a corridor in the Cottesmore Ops block.
The tannoy burbled, the crew ran, the producer said action and the photographer photographed the mepty hall.
Cut.
Take 2
ditto
Cut
Take 3
ditto
Cut
Crew now assembled in hall in statuesque full flight
Action
cameras rolling
Go
crew ran
Cut.
It also shows you what too much diving does for your hair.
We once had a PR shoot of a Vulcan crew responding to an alert. The crew 'hid' round the corner in a corridor in the Cottesmore Ops block.
The tannoy burbled, the crew ran, the producer said action and the photographer photographed the mepty hall.
Cut.
Take 2
ditto
Cut
Take 3
ditto
Cut
Crew now assembled in hall in statuesque full flight
Action
cameras rolling
Go
crew ran
Cut.
It also shows you what too much diving does for your hair.
Join Date: May 2007
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I know it has been round before but this thread reminded me of it as indeed did the thread about not being able to wear trendy civvies when off duty in an operational theatre...
DEFENCE BULLYING REPORT - RAF Worst of the Three Services
A recent report by the Equal Opportunities Audit Team has found that allegations of "a culture of widespread bullying and brutality" within the British Forces are, in the most part, unfounded. The audit team, which travelled to every Defence establishment across the UK and abroad and interviewed staff from all three services, found surprisingly few cases of unfair treatment and bullying within the Army and Navy.
When it came to the Airforce, however, the report told a different story. Complaints to the EOAT came from a total of 13,555 RAF members, compared with three from Navy and just one from Army.
While this statistic is alarming in its own right, it becomes horrific when one considers that each complaint represents a sad story of abuse, mistreatment and neglect. As one senior RAF officer put it, "Each story is, in itself, a sad indictment on the RAF. When taken as a whole, however, they demonstrate a reprehensible lack of regard for personnel on the part of RAF managers at all levels."
One young pilot told of having to spend two nights in tented accommodation, despite the fact that there was an empty five-star hotel just 1km away.
Another said that he had been forced to endure a gruelling fitness test every year since he joined in 1997.
One airwoman alleged that she had been overlooked for promotion on numerous occasions, simply because she was fat, lazy and stupid.
An aircraftman stated he had been refused permission to wear civilian attire to work, despite the fact that his uniform clashed with his eye colour.
Another had been forced to wear uncomfortable safety boots for periods of up to eight hours straight.
A number of personnel complained of having to attend courses that were not relevant to their jobs, such as rigorous ground combat courses and drawn-out lectures on occupational health and safety. To add insult to injury, a young corporal was even ordered to pack up chairs in the classroom after one such course.
The huge backlash against treatment of Air Force personnel should provide senior officers with a vital clue with regard to the massive retention problems experienced by the RAF in recent times. Over the past two years, Defence has spent some £19.8 million looking into the issue.
Not all of the Air Force's hierarchy, however, were upset by the revelations. Said outgoing Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Errol Flynn, KCB CBE DSO ADC BSc(Eng) FRAeS RAF, "I'm delighted with the result. I am very happy that our retention problems are due, in the most part at least, to something as harmless as bullying. I thought everyone was leaving because of me
DEFENCE BULLYING REPORT - RAF Worst of the Three Services
A recent report by the Equal Opportunities Audit Team has found that allegations of "a culture of widespread bullying and brutality" within the British Forces are, in the most part, unfounded. The audit team, which travelled to every Defence establishment across the UK and abroad and interviewed staff from all three services, found surprisingly few cases of unfair treatment and bullying within the Army and Navy.
When it came to the Airforce, however, the report told a different story. Complaints to the EOAT came from a total of 13,555 RAF members, compared with three from Navy and just one from Army.
While this statistic is alarming in its own right, it becomes horrific when one considers that each complaint represents a sad story of abuse, mistreatment and neglect. As one senior RAF officer put it, "Each story is, in itself, a sad indictment on the RAF. When taken as a whole, however, they demonstrate a reprehensible lack of regard for personnel on the part of RAF managers at all levels."
One young pilot told of having to spend two nights in tented accommodation, despite the fact that there was an empty five-star hotel just 1km away.
Another said that he had been forced to endure a gruelling fitness test every year since he joined in 1997.
One airwoman alleged that she had been overlooked for promotion on numerous occasions, simply because she was fat, lazy and stupid.
An aircraftman stated he had been refused permission to wear civilian attire to work, despite the fact that his uniform clashed with his eye colour.
Another had been forced to wear uncomfortable safety boots for periods of up to eight hours straight.
A number of personnel complained of having to attend courses that were not relevant to their jobs, such as rigorous ground combat courses and drawn-out lectures on occupational health and safety. To add insult to injury, a young corporal was even ordered to pack up chairs in the classroom after one such course.
The huge backlash against treatment of Air Force personnel should provide senior officers with a vital clue with regard to the massive retention problems experienced by the RAF in recent times. Over the past two years, Defence has spent some £19.8 million looking into the issue.
Not all of the Air Force's hierarchy, however, were upset by the revelations. Said outgoing Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Errol Flynn, KCB CBE DSO ADC BSc(Eng) FRAeS RAF, "I'm delighted with the result. I am very happy that our retention problems are due, in the most part at least, to something as harmless as bullying. I thought everyone was leaving because of me
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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Whinge
The amount of time you lot have spent whinging on here u could have completed multiple fitness tests. Amuses me how some people are saying that due to policy changes from station to station etc, they've completed twice as many fitness tests as they have completed years in the service. It won't be a problem to do 2 a year then will it?
The fitness standard is embarrassing in the RAF amongst far too many people (and before people jump in, I'm not saying that 2 fitness tests a year will solve this, but the negative outburst on here against the 2nd RAFFT highlights why the RAF has got a problem).
The fitness standard is embarrassing in the RAF amongst far too many people (and before people jump in, I'm not saying that 2 fitness tests a year will solve this, but the negative outburst on here against the 2nd RAFFT highlights why the RAF has got a problem).
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Femmers
I've got a problem with extra and unnecessary admin. Whether its fitness, GDT or anything else.
It's not the concept of fitness that bothers me, I run marathons, play sport, keep fit. If people like me are moaning about the fitness test, does that not suggest there could be issues with it?
Extra fitness testing won't make me fitter, or any of the guys I work with. It's just extra performance indicators for higher command. Fatties will be fatties, gym dodgers will still dodge the gym.
More bulls@@t is not what we need...
And before anyone else repeats themselves, this thread has run it's course.
I've got a problem with extra and unnecessary admin. Whether its fitness, GDT or anything else.
It's not the concept of fitness that bothers me, I run marathons, play sport, keep fit. If people like me are moaning about the fitness test, does that not suggest there could be issues with it?
Extra fitness testing won't make me fitter, or any of the guys I work with. It's just extra performance indicators for higher command. Fatties will be fatties, gym dodgers will still dodge the gym.
More bulls@@t is not what we need...
And before anyone else repeats themselves, this thread has run it's course.
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this thread has run it's course
Join Date: Jul 2007
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Unless I'm a total idiot, there should be some system genetrated text around here, that I'm about to loosely agree with. In case I'm not that clever, this was the sentiment by AC that struck a chord.
"I get so pi$$ed off with people in the RAF complaining that they are wasting their time doing what they are told to do. The fact is that they are not wasting their own time, they are wasting the RAF's time. Just get on with it, guys."
I would add one point though. If you are going to test someone, you have to train them first.. this is a fundemental mistake that the Air Force makes time and time again. You have to give them a chance to demonstrate why they are unable to reach a pre-determined standard. Remember the CCS debacle of the early 90s, when we started telling people to take home videos and teach themselves wpn handling?
I accept that training time is short for everyone, and although I've been out of the loop for 4 years now, the one thing that really boiled my pi$$ on any CCS course, was not so much the attitude of the airmen, but that of the NCOs and officers. In many cases, if there was an opportunity to snipe at the system, then the majority would, in front of the men. I know that free thinking and being slightly left field is the ethos of a service which is creative and intelligent, and which I am proud that I was a part of, but the ultimate aim should be to present men to battle, fit to do so. I wonder too, how much of this is down to intelligent and expressive men articulating their grief about being told to do something which is going to make them pant? Think about it. The RAF has spent a fortune on its gyms and everywhere I served, they were allwatys oversubscribed at lunchtimes (you couldn't get on the running machines for the likes of dear old Janice from Accounts using a £1000 runner to walk 500 metres at 1.2 mph), so where's the problem?
Now.. the RAF is in warfighting up to its neck (the 3 Rockapes who died last week a dreadful and timely reminder of that).. and its complaining about going to the gym?? I'm sorry, have we lost the plot here? I understand though, completely, the commanders who complain that their men are stretched to breaking point anyway. But they should be doing everything at their level to ensure that their men are fit, and not relying on some edict that their men have to be tested twice a year. I know its very 'army' and not the 'done thing old man', but whats there to stop young officers organising runs and sport as part of the working day? The answer that '..its not the way we do things around here' has to stop and the old guard needs to realise that too.
Bottom line is, we're sending men to war.. we have a duty to ensure they are fit so lets stop asking 'why?', and lets start asking 'why not 3, why not 4 tests if they're needed?'. If officers don't have the time to address that ultimate aim, then its up to the likes of Glenn Torpy and the pinnacles of command to ensure that things change, and that will be the measure of their success. Because those folk at the top exist solely for the purpose of Cpl Bloggs and the likes of him, lets not forget. If Cpl Bloggs is unfit and/or unable to do his job, then those guys at the top are letting him and the country down. And I'm sorry, its no longer sufficient for their Airships to say 'Ah, the things we do behind the scenes, the battles we fight with our political masters..'. We have been told this since NMS kicked in as far as I can remember, and probably even longer than that. I was in the Congo on Op Determinant when this g'ment got elected, and I remember thinking 'uh ohh'. How long did it take for Gordon Brown to sell off the married quarters to Japanese venture capitalists eh? And now that thats forgotten, and hes spent the money elsewhere, we're all living with the consequences.. yet another moral issue for young families in shabby accom who are only too willing to complain about more and more issues like going to the gym.
THAT is the more addressable question and to avoid the real issues, we can lay down as much smoke as we like about poor Cpl Bloggs having to attend the gym, bless 'is cotton socks. As an aside, does time wasting bilge such as EO training still take place? Dear God, please tell me there isn't mandatory Energy Conservation and Awareness training too now..
I'll get down now.
"I get so pi$$ed off with people in the RAF complaining that they are wasting their time doing what they are told to do. The fact is that they are not wasting their own time, they are wasting the RAF's time. Just get on with it, guys."
I would add one point though. If you are going to test someone, you have to train them first.. this is a fundemental mistake that the Air Force makes time and time again. You have to give them a chance to demonstrate why they are unable to reach a pre-determined standard. Remember the CCS debacle of the early 90s, when we started telling people to take home videos and teach themselves wpn handling?
I accept that training time is short for everyone, and although I've been out of the loop for 4 years now, the one thing that really boiled my pi$$ on any CCS course, was not so much the attitude of the airmen, but that of the NCOs and officers. In many cases, if there was an opportunity to snipe at the system, then the majority would, in front of the men. I know that free thinking and being slightly left field is the ethos of a service which is creative and intelligent, and which I am proud that I was a part of, but the ultimate aim should be to present men to battle, fit to do so. I wonder too, how much of this is down to intelligent and expressive men articulating their grief about being told to do something which is going to make them pant? Think about it. The RAF has spent a fortune on its gyms and everywhere I served, they were allwatys oversubscribed at lunchtimes (you couldn't get on the running machines for the likes of dear old Janice from Accounts using a £1000 runner to walk 500 metres at 1.2 mph), so where's the problem?
Now.. the RAF is in warfighting up to its neck (the 3 Rockapes who died last week a dreadful and timely reminder of that).. and its complaining about going to the gym?? I'm sorry, have we lost the plot here? I understand though, completely, the commanders who complain that their men are stretched to breaking point anyway. But they should be doing everything at their level to ensure that their men are fit, and not relying on some edict that their men have to be tested twice a year. I know its very 'army' and not the 'done thing old man', but whats there to stop young officers organising runs and sport as part of the working day? The answer that '..its not the way we do things around here' has to stop and the old guard needs to realise that too.
Bottom line is, we're sending men to war.. we have a duty to ensure they are fit so lets stop asking 'why?', and lets start asking 'why not 3, why not 4 tests if they're needed?'. If officers don't have the time to address that ultimate aim, then its up to the likes of Glenn Torpy and the pinnacles of command to ensure that things change, and that will be the measure of their success. Because those folk at the top exist solely for the purpose of Cpl Bloggs and the likes of him, lets not forget. If Cpl Bloggs is unfit and/or unable to do his job, then those guys at the top are letting him and the country down. And I'm sorry, its no longer sufficient for their Airships to say 'Ah, the things we do behind the scenes, the battles we fight with our political masters..'. We have been told this since NMS kicked in as far as I can remember, and probably even longer than that. I was in the Congo on Op Determinant when this g'ment got elected, and I remember thinking 'uh ohh'. How long did it take for Gordon Brown to sell off the married quarters to Japanese venture capitalists eh? And now that thats forgotten, and hes spent the money elsewhere, we're all living with the consequences.. yet another moral issue for young families in shabby accom who are only too willing to complain about more and more issues like going to the gym.
THAT is the more addressable question and to avoid the real issues, we can lay down as much smoke as we like about poor Cpl Bloggs having to attend the gym, bless 'is cotton socks. As an aside, does time wasting bilge such as EO training still take place? Dear God, please tell me there isn't mandatory Energy Conservation and Awareness training too now..
I'll get down now.