Slowly over a three year period, remove the Presidents Challenge from use as a replacement for doing the AFPT. The President's Challenge is a crutch that enables out of shape, overweight officers to maintain readiness. It's time to move on to a more robust method of measuring fitness.
See the following blog link for more:
http://www.phschat.com/forums/entry.php?66-Fitness-the-Corps-mission-APFT-and-President-s-Challenge
Comments (6)
Agreed - Our DOD counterparts will have more respect for us if we are in better shape.
AMen caffeine! we need to finally realize that we must walk the walk of public health advocacy and starts with policing ourselves. Eliminating the Pres. "freepass", will set us on that path of a more smart uniform appearance
I don't agree with the idea of totally eliminating the presidents challenge. If you don't mind me asking...how old are you? Are you over 50? Not that age should play a factor in physical fitness but there are conditions that may have occurred with some indiviuals that may not allow them to do a set number of push-ups or a run in a certain time frame. You have to consider those who may have been able to do the AFPT at one point but due to any injury or condition they may not be able to do all parts of the AFPT. There are also certain circumstances where PHS officers work for agencies such as IHS where you may be the only officer working at the assigned location. Only another PHS officer can test you for AFPT. This happened to me. When I came on board with PHS I worked for IHS. I was assigned to a remote clinic that had never used a CCO. I did not know any other CCOs other than the liaison officer who arranged my placement.
I will say...that I am glad that all parties that join the corp now are required to do the officers training course before he or she go to work for the agency (well those who aren't already with an agency). The AFPT is conducted at the officers training course.
I think that the individual's physical fitness should be tested before they start with PHS and continued throughout ones career. However, considerations should be made for those who developed a condition along the way. If the condition will interfere with that individual doing his or her job then that individual will need to make some decisions regarding his or her career.
See the following blog link for more:
http://www.phschat.com/forums/entry.php?66-Fitness-the-Corps-mission-APFT-and-President-s-Challenge
PE H. Eschat, thank you. I visited the link and now have a more clearier understanding about the issue with the presidents challenge. I explained the purpose of the presidents challenge, how it is abused, and what should be done about it so that those who are not "physically fit" cannot hide behind it any longer but get the help he or she needs to be more fit. My point was I did not agree with eliminating the presidents challenge as some of my colleagues have suggested. My question is how will the corp monitor officers so that they can be referred for "the program"? You mentioned and I agree, that it is the officer's responsibility. Will health care providers be asked to screen and refer? Maybe those agencies that have a substantial amount officers can meet up once a year and conduct each others AFPT. What would you suggest for those who work for an agency or at a location where he or she may be the only PHS officer at their detail?
Healthcare providers will screen and refer, according to criteria established by the USPHS. Regarding the APFT, if circumstances warrant the honor system, then that's what could be done, or a supervisor or other person could sign off on the APFT as a witness; it wouldn't need to be another officer. Right now we have the honor system for the President's Challenge, so it wouldn't be any different.
The President's Challenge is a band-aid that prevents officers from getting treatment and guidance for being obese or overweight. It's high time we get those officers in a program that documents their legitimate reason(s) for not being able to do a physical assessment. Those with a physical disability can still find alternate ways to exercise and use diet to control weight.