A2QFI

In the basement. Run by Alpha Healthclub. Fitness tests conducted either locally (Admiralty Bdg?) or at Uxbridge.

Good grief your Air Farce sounds a right barrel of laughs these days.....:rolleyes:

Melchett,

Sorry but your point is wide of the mark. Some people could easily afford half an hour out of the office - generally the kind of people who work Mon-Fri and have all their weekends and Christmases free (no offence to you people, I'm just jealous!).

Many other people, who work shifts, can't escape during the working day to do things like the fitness test. So they have to come in on their stand-down days to do it, instead of resting/seeing the family/enjoying their down time. As you must be aware, many people in the RAF commute great distances between home and work - so now these people may have to lose a whole day of time at home because, instead of heading home straight after their run of shifts, they have to stick around till the next day to do (another) fitness test. Depending on the shift cycle they work and which days of the week the RAFFT is offered by PEd Flt, they might not even be able to make it home at all.

Do I claim to speak for everyone? No, not at all. But there will be some people who will be significantly inconvenienced by another fitness test, which is all the more galling when we all agree that the introduction of an extra fitness test will make absolutely no difference to individual or collective fitness.

You can spout on about it being an admin burden all you like but that is just a cover up! those that whinge about doing fitness testing are the lardy's that hate sport and are more likely to fail it anyway! get a life and get fit or ship out, there is no place for fatty's in any armed service.
The bollox about shift workers not being able to get to the gym and having to come in on standdown days is rubbish, the gym will still be running tests the week later when said shift worker will be on days! the gym runs tests every week of the year, just the same as changing a med appointment is easy, changing a fitness test date is easy. Everyone manages to make it to the med centre a couple of times a year without any fuss, how on earth does that not grind the system to halt?
Some clever folk could arrange that their sections or crews do it all together to lessen the impact of doing it in dribs and drabs, and imagine if once you are all there together after the test you managed to play a bit of five a side or volleyball! wow that is clever thinking, never catch on with the fatty's though.

Aargh!

Yes! But how is an extra fitness test going to get rid of this problem?

Actually it's not - more than half the people at the stn I work at are shift workers, and we do have to come in on stand-down for Med, Dental, CCS, RAFFT etc etc.

You pillock - I'm talking about the many people who can't get away while they're on shift - day or night!:ugh:

That's a good idea isn't it - I look forward to the day when the entire Stn Guard Force down tools, abandon the gate, and head off for a couple of hours to do the RAFFT and then some volleyball. Good thing there's no terrorist threat these days...And how about the whole of ATC march smartly out of the tower for a couple of hours? That would work well. SAR crews? Fighter Controllers? ("sorry Mr Prime Minister, we didn't know about the rogue airliners because the bunker was empty"). Need I go on?

It wouldn't catch on with the fit people either, because playing sport with the cholesterol brigade is like shooting fish in a barrel! Besides, when did volleyball ever turn a fat person into a fit one?

Toddbabe
Thanks for that well informed and thoughtful post, clearly you have great insight into all things military. I appreciate how busy and important you must be, as clearly you haven't got time to read the full thread, but thanks for chipping in anyway.

Changing med appointments easy? I can't get an appointment in the same week here, even if I change it on a monday. Try booking a PME? End of the month Sir.

We could do the RAFFT all together on one day, now wouldn't that be a good idea? But hang on.... There's 25% of the Sqn in the ME (that's the Middle East) where we've been since 2001 (WITHOUT A BREAK), 2 guys on guard, two away at sim, 8 away on other tasking. It's okay though, because we can easily cancel all these things just to get our fitness test done.

We don't work shifts mate, just 24 hours, 365 days a year. Now, if you'd worked & been away all weekend (as 45% of the Sqn is doing this w/e) you may be granted a couple of days off next week. Feel like popping in for a fitness test from your home on one of those days?

This is the reality of life amongst the deployed and deployable bits of the RAF, whether its FJ, SH, ME, Movs, TSW or anyone else.

If you don't understand this dynamic, then you're clearly not very bright.

Now I'm complaining about fitness testing, but I run marathons, play rep sport and am down the gym pretty much every day (although in my own time as I'm too busy during a 'on-sqn' day) Kind of ruins your theory. :ugh:

I am fat. I smoke 20 B&H a day. I do just enough exercise to keep me fit enough to perform my primary duty.

I've also done 4 OOAs already this year, including one at VERY short notice. Why? Because the jockstrapping tw@t who was meant to do it 'had to' go off and play rugby somewhere for the RAF.

Who is more useful to a Sqn - a fat bloke who is willing to work his bolox off, or a serial det-dodging jockstrapper who's always too busy playing sport to actually do his job?

Discuss.

If the fitness test is to become twice yearly, it will achieve two things. Firstly it will provide yet another distraction from our core task, which I always understood to be flying and the support of flying. Secondly it will confirm that those in big offices, far removed from the real air force where aircraft cry out for engineers, have forgotten what we are actually here to do. While fundamental issues go unresolved they are choosing to distract themselves with things like half-hearted fitness policies that will ultimately do more to remind people of the fcuk around factor than they will ever impact on personal fitness.

As an example, you're just as likely to see a K line engineer at work during a weekend as a PTI. How dare they tell me it's warfighter first when our core product sits around waiting for repair. :*

Agree with many of the points here, apart from ToddBabe who is obviously a cock of the highest order.
Don't mind doing a fitness test, have never failed, but two is just a distraction. If it is a test, why am I at risk of deteriorating over a 6 month period? I never used to be?
Job assurance for Ped branch?

WM

The people who always pass will still pass, the people who fail will still fail.

I believe this has probably come from the top, or pretty near it. No doubt it allows the senior RAF hierarchy to tell the Army we are taking fitness more seriously - and as a 'change' it sends a message that fitness is now more of an issue.









By the way - if anyone is interested (which I very much doubt) I am not particularly for or against it, I will just carry on passing, I merely offer the above as an observation as to why the change has probably occurred!

A 'Test' is done after a period of training. It is a Performance Standard check.

Training is a period of instruction by a suitably qualified person or persons.

I am not aware of any formal fitness training being carried out, by PTI's, at RAF units as part of the working cycle.

Therefore, the test is invalid because the training is non existent.

That makes it an administrative procedure only. Next time you are due to take the RAFFT, just send an e-mail saying you are fit.

If that is not accepted then we should shut Cranwell forthwith and tell all prospective Officers to learn how to be an officer in their own time. They can then report to their nearest RAF unit and sit an 'Officer Test'. If successful, collect your uniform and off you go. This could spread to flying training, ATC etc etc. We will save millions.

In short, if you want to test people, then train them. That means it becomes part of the working day. If there is no time then it is obviously not that important after all and should be ignored.

Wocca cock and the rest you can eat me, I never tire of you losers always whingeing about having to do some phys or other! it's a fact of life in the services that we should be physically fit and in the past we have only paid lip service to training and testing, if the powers that be deem it right and so that we should be fitter and Quite rightly so then the Pti's and medics have to have some way of testing that the efforts going into the fitness are paying off.
Don't try and tell me that I don't know what a hard working front line section is like, I have spent the last 18 years on them! and if you think that the only time shift workers are able to get to the gym or med centre is during off time then you are speaking bollox utter bollox and you know it!!! if your boss won't let you go in work time to the med center for a duty appointment then tell the SMO that you can't come and get your boss to explain why! so many people believe that they aren't allowed cos thay are SO busy that they don't bother asking! well fecking don't ask just tell. and before you all say well I am only an SAC how can I tell my boss? grow up you have rights, you are allowed to the med center for a duty appointment end of story and if it is compulsary to gym or testing then do that in works time or not at all and see what they say, unless you highlight the problem to the bosses then they will just allow you to be stiffed .
Torque since when has guard force been a work section you monkey? good analogy that one!
You might not get another appointment at med center for weeks but it is easily changed, the gym will always have space on next weeks fitness testing no need to wait months I could get one this afternoon if I wanted.
I don't change my stance one bit, and have worked on many more sections than most of you (guaranteed) and have yet found it difficult to get to the gym in one way or other during the working week.
It's called being lazy and looking for an excuse.
Hard work my arse, haven't got time bull****! make time stop talking ****e and get fit or **** off.

Blondebabe,

I pointed out in another thread that you would argue with your own shadow and it's nice to see you contribute to this thread in the manner that most have come to expect.

"and have worked on many more sections than most of you (guaranteed)"

Ever paused for breath and wondered just why you have been posted sooooo many times in your short service to date...........................if your literary skills are a direct read across of your inter personal skills then I am sure most line managers would want you out of their door PDQ to restore harmony :rolleyes:

Careful there, toddprick, all that steroid misuse down the gym seems to have got to you........:}

TheInquisitor,

I'm told that there is evidence to suggest that people like you do, in fact, perform better in theatre than "racing snakes" at RAF type jobs.

The trouble is that the Army judges everyone by their own values and our wheels seem to want us to compete.

ToddTW*T
 

Your command of written grammer is laughable. I shall therefore write in your style, so as you understand and do not become bemused......

What Tripe you Splurge from your Blinkered stance. I have no doubt your the kind of 'well playing for the Station is Duty' Wan*er that the rest of us continuously have to cover for as there is no manpower scaling for your participation in 'Recognised Sport'.

You Preach and judge people who you have no idea about. Your stand is that we are military and therefore we must need to be fitter, fitter, fitter. Well, 20 years ago with the Cold War threat I didn't need to be Fitter, Fitter, Fitter? Explain that (or look Cold War up on Google......).

Oh...and where in serving the Military, as thats what we are here to do, (as you remind us so often from behind your blinkers), does playing Station Sport fit into Military Service, by your deffinition?

This will be my Only post.... I have lots of work to do now and I've eaten my Lunch. I don't post at home, that time is precious to those of us with LIVES outside of Uniform. I wonder how many more times you will post? More time avoiding work or is the Gym too busy for your Ego / Arrogance?

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.

The Guard Force on my stn is a formed unit of military personnel, who are subject to the RAFFT. Wind your neck in you ignorant t**t!

You don't even try to take issue with my point about ATC or other sections all downing tools at once - do you concede defeat on that one? (fat chance)

How you can pretend to know the working patterns and commitments of everyone in every trade in the RAF? The sane ones amongst us put things like in our posts.

Ever wondered why you only last such a short time in each place?

Cockbabe,

I see from your profile you are at Elgin, so much for the last 18 years on the front line, thought I hadn't seen a self-obsessed penis on the run into Sangin.
I have nothing against fitness. Represented the county quite a few times as a youngster, and have never failed a fitness test.
But a fitness test has little to do with fitness. It is purely a performance indicator for the powers that be. That is the point we are trying to make, however, as you have done 18 years on the front-line and are still an SAC, I can understand that being a difficult concept.

WM

Strange that there are no Pongo's or Matelots on here moaning about the fitness test....just seems to be Flt Lt Blobby. I expect to soon see a thread entitled " They are now making us wear a uniform to work"

I didn't know that the Army or Navy had to do the RAFT.:confused: