Posted on Apr 29, 2016
Army advances tape test review triggered by SMA and soldier complaints
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This is great. It needs to be looked. Please take a moment and hear my personal story on why our tape test is garbage.
Story time:
Doing army things I destroyed my knee; required a complete reconstruction. Unable to run, jog, and barely walk as well as falling through the cracks of the Army health care plan it took me nearly 8 months from point of injury to surgery. Going from a physical soldier who ran sub 13 2mile and I had never gotten below a 280 to broke and useless(we all know we see a broke soldier as useless on the line) was a hard hit and long story short I turned into a big fattie. I was 300lbs + of tubby tubby. Luckily my neck also got fat. And I'm tall enough to carry weight well that when I was taped my results of a tape test during my Fatass period came out to 20 of an allowed 22%.
Thankfully going into my surgery a nurse I work with who is a straight shooter told me "Crowley, you're fat. Your surgery will never help you if you continue to be fat." She was right. I had a new goal. Stop being a peice of shit fat soldier. So I lost the weight.
I am now down to 223lbs and standing 6'5 my most recent height and weight was (because I've always naturally just had a small neck) while being extremely broad landed me at 22% and that's fucking bullshit.
My only desire is for a better system. I agree with what SMA Daily says about not protecting the fatties. Yet the current system does excatly that.
Before anyone jumps to it. As a person who had never passed "weight" and always has to get taped I know the regulation inside and out and call out any taper that does something incorrect knowing how my small neck can fail me.
Edit: before and after Pictures can be seen upon request- Im actually going to do a write up on it too if anyone fancy is reading this and can do something with that info let me know.
Story time:
Doing army things I destroyed my knee; required a complete reconstruction. Unable to run, jog, and barely walk as well as falling through the cracks of the Army health care plan it took me nearly 8 months from point of injury to surgery. Going from a physical soldier who ran sub 13 2mile and I had never gotten below a 280 to broke and useless(we all know we see a broke soldier as useless on the line) was a hard hit and long story short I turned into a big fattie. I was 300lbs + of tubby tubby. Luckily my neck also got fat. And I'm tall enough to carry weight well that when I was taped my results of a tape test during my Fatass period came out to 20 of an allowed 22%.
Thankfully going into my surgery a nurse I work with who is a straight shooter told me "Crowley, you're fat. Your surgery will never help you if you continue to be fat." She was right. I had a new goal. Stop being a peice of shit fat soldier. So I lost the weight.
I am now down to 223lbs and standing 6'5 my most recent height and weight was (because I've always naturally just had a small neck) while being extremely broad landed me at 22% and that's fucking bullshit.
My only desire is for a better system. I agree with what SMA Daily says about not protecting the fatties. Yet the current system does excatly that.
Before anyone jumps to it. As a person who had never passed "weight" and always has to get taped I know the regulation inside and out and call out any taper that does something incorrect knowing how my small neck can fail me.
Edit: before and after Pictures can be seen upon request- Im actually going to do a write up on it too if anyone fancy is reading this and can do something with that info let me know.
Army advances tape test review triggered by SMA and soldier complaints
Posted from armytimes.com
APFT
Height and Weight
Doctrine
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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Losing 75 pounds, going up by 2% body fat on the tape test......and yet some in the Army will argue that the tape test isn't broken. Unbelievable. SPC (Join to see) great comment!
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There are SO MANY more accurate & effective ways to get this done!! With today's technology, there's NO VALID REASON why the tape test should be the determining measurements used to discharge "fatties." I always felt that these Soldiers were WORTH the extra time &, of course, the money!
PERSONALLY, I believe the tape should be for SCREENING purposes to determine who gets further tested using whatever CURRENT method would give the commander a Soldier's ACCURATE BMI. Furthermore, consider even to REDUCE the allowable percentages! Sure more will get further tested but there's soooooo many who just make the tape that are fat as hell......and some who are that close but FAR from actually being overweight (and who also get the stigma of being a "borderline" Soldier when they aren't). >1/4 for men and >1/3 for women......that's how much FAT is allowed of their current body (at certain ages!). I've had to ruck the radio for an RTO (more than once) who was too small to carry it!! He could run like the wind but couldn't ruck the radio!
Don't get me started on the impact of the overweight program on retirement awards. (Crap, I'm started.......) Sure we "like" to say it doesn't, but the truth is that's then FIRST thing considered (almost EVERY commander and EVERY retirement award I've processed). I've had to go back in and fight for those who were decorated heroes but got hurt then got fat.......then retired because it was simply enough. An NCO gives his/her "good" 20 years, multiple combat tours, and for whatever reason gets retired because they're fat should NOT get an ARCOM as a retirement award. (The "good" is NOT meant to reflect those who avoided deployments, got DWI/DUIs, or anything like that or the superstars......just the regular, run of the mill, gimme 100 of them, good Soldier)
PERSONALLY, I believe the tape should be for SCREENING purposes to determine who gets further tested using whatever CURRENT method would give the commander a Soldier's ACCURATE BMI. Furthermore, consider even to REDUCE the allowable percentages! Sure more will get further tested but there's soooooo many who just make the tape that are fat as hell......and some who are that close but FAR from actually being overweight (and who also get the stigma of being a "borderline" Soldier when they aren't). >1/4 for men and >1/3 for women......that's how much FAT is allowed of their current body (at certain ages!). I've had to ruck the radio for an RTO (more than once) who was too small to carry it!! He could run like the wind but couldn't ruck the radio!
Don't get me started on the impact of the overweight program on retirement awards. (Crap, I'm started.......) Sure we "like" to say it doesn't, but the truth is that's then FIRST thing considered (almost EVERY commander and EVERY retirement award I've processed). I've had to go back in and fight for those who were decorated heroes but got hurt then got fat.......then retired because it was simply enough. An NCO gives his/her "good" 20 years, multiple combat tours, and for whatever reason gets retired because they're fat should NOT get an ARCOM as a retirement award. (The "good" is NOT meant to reflect those who avoided deployments, got DWI/DUIs, or anything like that or the superstars......just the regular, run of the mill, gimme 100 of them, good Soldier)
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What always drove me nuts about the current system is that you can have a guy that scores a 270+ on a pt test and is great at his job yet can face chapter because of his waist and neck measurements. I got two buddies this has happend to.
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