{"id":40259,"date":"2018-10-09T14:37:05","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T14:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/09\/get-ready-for-dietitians-physical-therapists-and-more-in-every-army-battalion\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:15:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:15:42","slug":"get-ready-for-dietitians-physical-therapists-and-more-in-every-army-battalion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/10\/09\/get-ready-for-dietitians-physical-therapists-and-more-in-every-army-battalion\/","title":{"rendered":"Get ready for dietitians, physical therapists and more in every Army battalion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Command Sgt. Maj. Edward Mitchell discusses how soldiers can get ready for the newest Army Combat Fitness Test now.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

The Army kicked off a pilot program for the imminent Army Combat Fitness Test<\/a> at the beginning of October, studying 60 battalions as they train and administer the new regimen<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Army Forces Command has selected 30 battalions to train with a cadre of health and fitness professionals, to see what kind of support units it will need not only to implement a new PT test, but to build combat effectiveness and reduce injuries to the degree the Army is looking for with its Holistic Health and Fitness<\/a> initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the Army, we all like to train our beach bodies,” Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost, head of the Center for Initial Military Training, said Monday at the AUSA annual meeting in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the ever popular chest and arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we do not train is the posterior muscle groups and our core, and that\u2019s why so many soldiers have shoulder injuries, have knee injuries, have lower back and hip injuries \u2014 because we have not trained our bodies for the life of a soldier,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is to create an Army-wide PT plan, rather than leave it to local commanders entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a former junior commander, I always thought I knew what was best for fitness. Well, guess what? I don\u2019t, and our commanders don\u2019t,\u201d Maj. Gen. Malcolm Frost said. \u201cAnd every two years, our units go through these cycles of PT programs and facility builds that do not have the staying power because they were not institutionalized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more coverage from the AUSA annual meeting, click here.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Occupational Physical Assessment Test was the first step, in 2017, the first-ever physical fitness test required to join the Army. ACFT takes it a step further, requiring an occupational measure of fitness throughout a soldier\u2019s career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if soldiers are going to take a tougher test, they\u2019ve got to train for the tougher test, and it will require more staff and facilities than what the Army has widely available now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have centralized medical treatment facilities that look at you and take care of you after you\u2019re already broken,\u201d Frost said. \u201cAnd we have outdated Morale, Welfare and Recreation gymnasiums that can be used by [anyone] who can access them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, over the next decade, the Army hopes to build Soldier Performance Readiness Centers, complete with an ACFT field, a terrain run park and facilities to practice with weights, kettle bells and medicine balls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those centers will also have experts on site to support soldiers in a diet and exercise plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sgt. 1st Class Kimberlee Hilliard, an Army Reserve soldier and master fitness trainer with the Army Physical Fitness School, observes for proper form as soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington perform T pushups. The pushups measure upper body muscular endurance. (Stephanie Slater\/Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, when the Army was piloting two separate PT test ideas, troops trying out the Soldier Readiness Test were given different levels of equipment and professional staff to get them ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, the units with a full complement of equipment and fitness experts fared the best. So, while the SRT didn\u2019t move on to the next round, its lessons learned are continuing in another FORSCOM pilot program, Frost said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An \u201cH2F light\u201d program has gotten off the ground with 30 battalions, Frost said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have the facilities built, but they\u2019ve modified some of their facilities, they\u2019ve purchased some of the equipment that\u2019s necessary \u2014 but, more importantly, they\u2019ve staffed registered dietitians, occupational therapists, physical therapists and strength and conditioning coaches in those 30 battalions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t