Have you heard about the Bod Pod?

Amen

The water displacement dunk tank was the gold standard for measuring body fat for many years. It had solid science behind it.
It was only a matter of time till technology came though with a way that was just as accurate without having to drowned yourself.
Like the "better" APFT.. the BOD POD will only be made the Army test standard if they can put one at every location, and enough for every unit, as well as overseas, deployed. ect. Promotion boards go on when your deployed. MED boards happen when your at remote duty station...involuntary reduction boards happen as well.... If the service can not make sure the "Standard" test device or procedure is available to the entire force all the time..it will never be made "THE STANDRD" though perhaps it could be used in cases of mitigation or to counter what is felt a incorrect "standard" reading be it tape, caliper or electro this or that

I agree, SGM Erik Marquez . It'll be at least a good five-ten years.

SGM Erik Marquez - fortunately, Army Wellness Centers and similar sites are popping up everywhere, and they have bod pods and trained staff and are owned by DoD. There may be a requirement to send someone on a day trip or an overnight trip to get tested, and this might add cost, but shouldn't we make sure we are separating folks because they fail a standard vs separating them because our measurement standard is inaccurate? Weigh the balance of a couple hundred dollars for a TDY against the thousands or millions of dollars invested in a Servicemember....it makes good economic and business sense.

Fair enough. The DoD has identified "standards" for maximum allowable body fat percentage. That's all I was referencing.
I agree, mostly, that maintaining “standards” for maximum allowable body fat percentage is an individual responsibility. Where my thoughts diverge are for Soldiers/Servicemembers who aren’t able to control what they eat (because they are in the field, deployed, or otherwise not given control over their food) or when/how much they PT (field/deployed/etc) or how much they sleep (again, field/deployed/etc). Its logically difficult to hold a Servicemember responsible when the conditions that lead to issues (sleep, exercise, nutrition) are often not in the control of the Servicemember. DoD owes it to Servicemembers (all of whom joined voluntarily) to use accurate standards for determining body fat percentage.

MAJ (Join to see) - I have RARELY seen a Service Member gain weight under field conditions. I can think back to my most recent JRTC experience before my current deployment in which I lost 18 lbs in 3 weeks; the same goes for most of my Soldiers. With MREs containing roughly 1200-1400 calories, even if you ate 3 a day and ate EVERYTHING in the MRE, you'd be hard pressed to put weight on.

Maybe it's just the adult in me speaking, but the problems aren't with the circumference value test. It's an excuse for people to use like any other.

SGM (Join to see) - Your point sort of supports my argument. Rapid weight loss (and the corresponding weight gain after a field problem) absolutely destroys one's metabolism. So does sleep deprivation and inconsistent exercise. These three things work together to create problems for folks. You appear lucky to be able to lose weight during a field problem---not all Soldiers have that same luxury. I, for one, tended to gain weight during a field problem or deployment, mostly because my base metabolism just isn't that great, and eating low-quality food, not sleeping, and not having the opportunity to exercise consistently throws all of this out of whack. In my time on deployments and field problems as an infantry officer, I saw just as many folks lose weight as those who struggled to gain weight.

Not using an accurate measure of body composition is just senseless. The tape test is a bad test, and the Army knows this. The problems ARE with the test. I'll be the first to acknowledge that there are many, many, many over fat Soldiers among us. Many of these pass the tape test without a problem. My position is simply that we owe it to our Soldiers to use an accurate measure, and the tape test isn't an accurate measure.

Many folks share your perspective, though. Saying the tape test is bad isn't an excuse---it is a demonstratable fact that the tape test is inaccurate. I have zero issue kicking out over fat people. The standard is the standard. My issue is with the way we measure the standard.

MAJ (Join to see) - We'll have to agree to disagree on this one sir.