ISSUE 70 : May/Jun - 1988 - Australian Defence Force Journal

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30 DEFENCE FORCE JOURNAL No. 70 May/June 88 These proposed changes reflect the triumph of technique over performance. It is a fundamental principle of war that as long as the objective is achieved, the method of it's accomplishment is left to the discretion of the commander. Put simply, there are many ways to skin a cat. The underlying premise of these changes is that an A pass is too easy to achieve; therefore categories have had technique restrictions introduced. The concept of "the harder the test, the better it must be" borders on infantile logic. A hard test with no purpose is a hard test. The philosophy implicit in these changes is to introduce an unbelievable degree of conformity in technique and to no doubt encourage further time to be spent to achieve successful completion of the test. If implemented, these changes would mean more and more time would be devoted to a test that has no proven relationship to military fitness. Discussion The PTT is a good idea, gone horribly wrong. What was originally designed as a means to the end of fitness, has become an end in itself. More and more time is spent in training for a test which, as I and other researchers have shown, appears to lack correlation with the performance of military tasks. The Americans, whose test we slavishly and uncritically adopted have already expressed concern about the appropriateness of their tests. I have already expressed my views on weightload marching as a more valid way of obtaining military fitness. We must make the conceptual leap from cardio-respiratory fitness, to military fitness. The two are not the same. To extrapolate from the PTT and say that those with A passes are better soldiers is invalid. There is a pressing need to de-emphasize the PTT and to replace it with another test. My proposed BFT is simple and more task orientated than the PTT. by halving the distance of the run and giving the options of swimming or cycling to those who are unsuited to running, I believe we will reduce the high incidence of orthopaedic injury amongst our troops and achieve a true conservation of manpower. The BET needs to regain its proper role as the premier test of fitness. The elements of the BET are all performance and occupation related. Specially trained recruits at Kapooka have achieved walking speeds of up to 9km/hour. This re-emphasises the fundamental issue of specificity. It is this specific military fitness which we must define and then test. Our Army needs soldiers who possess endurance, strength, speed and agility, unemeumbered by injury. The role of competitive sport in units, needs to be re-emphasized and re-organised to obtain mass rather than elite participation. My thoughts are highly unoriginal. Traditionally, our Army has route marched to achieve military fitness, and relied on sport to provide aerobic fitness and the competitive outlook. The PTT and the training required for it are very individual. The Army demands a team approach and yet, our current training methods discourage this, because it is every man for himself in the PTT. The BFT I have proposed, would have no gradings. It would be simply pass/fail. The development of elites should be discouraged, fitness should be its own reward. Other areas such as nutrition and weight control, I have not touched upon but they are also important factors contributing to overall fitness. The Americans have a comprehensive programme of education, and a more scientific approach to weight. We do not measure body fat and therefore, we are unable to determine accurately how "fat" a person is. Muscle weighs more than fat, yet we use simplistic height/ weight tables which do not take individual build into account. Conclusion The PTT is an inappropriate test of Military Fitness. Its test items have not been validated against performance and have no military relevance. The PTT has grown to be an entity in its own right, unrelated to true military fitness it has diverted our training emphasis. My proposed BFT is just that, very basic. It is a test of aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and speed. These are general non-specific attributes, but suitable for a non-field force population. The BET is the most appropriate test of Military Fitness, but the concept of military fitness is the most fundamental of all. A good cardiorespiratory level of function does not translate into a good level of military fitness and performance in the field.
PTT FITNESS OR FICTION 31 We need to reject an imposed American model and adopt tests which meet our needs and our requirements. M References Cooper K.H.: The Aerobics Programme for Total Well Being. M. Evans & Coy. New York, 1982. 2. Astrand P.O.: Textbook of Work Physiology McGraw- Hill New York 1983. pg 371-372. 3. United States Military Symposium on Fitness. 19-26 July 1984. Eugene, Oregon. Abstracts. 4. Ibid, pg 16. 5. Ibid pg 58 6. Rudzki S.J.: Weight-Load Marching, Rediscovering the Fitness Wheel. Defence Force Journal No 63. Mar/Apr 87. Major Rudzki joined Adelaide University Regiment in 1976, and was commissioned L T RAAMC in May 1981. He graduated M.B.B.S. in 1982 and has served as RMO 2 Fd Svy Sqn, 3 RAR, 8/12 Mdm Regl, and IRTB. Whilst on leave without pay, he worked with the British Army in the areas of sports medicine. He obtained the Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Science in 1986, and is a foundation member of the Australian College of Sports Physicians. He is currently S02 MED HQ 2MD. RAAF man being winched from helicopter to deck of HMAS Hobart during exercise
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Page 7 and 8: The Management of Australia's Defen
Page 9 and 10: THE MANAGEMENT OF AUSTRALIA'S DEFEN
Page 17 and 18: Harnessing Military Expertise in De
Page 19 and 20: HARNESSING MILITARY EXPERTISE 17 e.
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Page 35 and 36: A BORNEO JOURNEY 33 Australian High
Page 37 and 38: A BORNEO JOURNEY 35 liboxes dropped
Page 39 and 40: Australia's Reaction to the Threat
Page 41 and 42: AUSTRALIA'S REACTION TO THE THREAT
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Page 45 and 46: Book Review LEST WE FORGET THE HIST
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Page 49 and 50: BOOK REVIEW •7 I found this book

ISSUE 70 : May/Jun - 1988 - Australian Defence Force Journal

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