Caffeinated Beef Jerky

Yes, please.

According to The Week, a U.S. Army lab is "infusing beef jerky with a coffee cup's worth of caffeine to give soldiers a jolt with their protein."

Why? To "make portable meals more appealing and nutritious" for soldiers.

And, I suppose, to keep 'em awake.

[Source]

Your Grandfather Was Tougher Than You

Earlier this month, the Art of Manliness published an article about the Army Ground Forces Test -- the formal fitness test used by the U.S. Army during World War II. To whip soldiers into shape for combat, the Army had incorporated a physical development program into its basic training course, and beginning in 1942, participants were tested to determine the program's effectiveness.

The test included squat jumps, sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, and a 300 yard run. The emphasis was on functional fitness and giving American GI’s the strength, mobility, and endurance they would need to tackle real tasks on the battlefield.

In 1946, a Physical Training School was created at Fort Bragg with the mission of exploring how to take the goal of functional fitness farther. The training program developed at the school and the fitness test were codified in the 1946 edition of FM 21-20, the Army’s physical training manual.

Basically, Grandpa was doing CrossFit before it was cool.

Visit the Art of Manliness for details about the test's standards and scoring, and see how you match up. But one thing's for sure: The Army's current physical fitness standards aren't what they used to be.

[Previously: Too Fat For Fighting?]

This Little Piggy Got Kicked Out of the Army

If you're a Vibram FiveFingers enthusiast and you're in the U.S. Army, it looks like you'll have to find something else to wear on your feet. Earlier this month, military brass issued the following All Army Activities ("ALARACT") release:

ALARACT 239/2011

DTG: R 231424Z JUN 11

UNCLASSIFIED//

THIS MESSAGE HAS BEEN SENT BY THE PENTAGON TELECOMMUNICATIONS CENTER ON BEHALF OF DA WASHINGTON DC//DAPE-HRI//

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR EXCEPTION TO POLICY TO PUBLISH ALARACT MODIFYING WEAR OF IMPROVED PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORM (IPFU)

THE PURPOSE OF THIS MESSAGE IS TO MODIFY THE EXISTING WEAR POLICY FOR THE (IPFU).

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MINIMALIST RUNNING SHOES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AND WEAR. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ONLY THOSE SHOES THAT ACCOMMODATE ALL FIVE TOES IN ONE COMPARTMENT ARE AUTHORIZED FOR WEAR. THOSE SHOES THAT FEATURE FIVE SEPARATE, INDIVIDUAL COMPARTMENTS FOR THE TOES, DETRACT FROM A PROFESSIONAL MILITARY IMAGE AND ARE PROHIBITED FOR WEAR WITH THE IPFU OR WHEN CONDUCTING PHYSICAL TRAINING IN MILITARY FORMATION.

Interesting. Sounds like the Army thinks that splay-toed footwear is so ugly that it can't be worn even for PT.

Okay -- I'll admit that certain models of Vibram FiveFingers are ridiculously garish, and I can see why the Army (which has a pretty tight dress code as it is) would barf all over have an issue with soldiers who look like they dipped their feet in fluorescent paint.



But on the flip side, FiveFingers are a helluva lot better for our soldiers' feet than stiff, thick-heeled combat boots. The Army, I think, gets this -- after all, they've seen the benefits of proper running mechanics, and in the ALARACT itself, they explicitly call out the "variety of minimalist running shoes" available to soldiers and civilians alike.

This makes me wonder if the Army would've been more tolerant of toe-shoes if more of them looked like this:

rather than this:

[Source]

The Perfect Push-Up?

What's a "military push-up"? Depends on who you ask.

According to Tony Horton in P90X Chest & Back, military push-ups are performed with your elbows tucked in close against your sides, so that you end up targeting your triceps and shoulders.

But folks who've spent time in the military will tell you that Tony's version is foreign to them. (If anything, they call 'em "triceps push-ups.")

In fact, it appears that each branch of the U.S. armed forces uses different standards for push-ups. And they're pretty darn particular. Here's what the Air Force Times has to say on the subject:

[E]ach service can get a little pushy when it comes to what makes for a perfect push-up. Drop a soldier, sailor, airman and Marine for 20 and you’ll likely see four very different versions. True, the essentials are the same: Legs, back and head straight; arms bending to at least a 90-degree angle; body moving up and down as a single unit. But that’s about where the similarities end.

A Marine, for example, will always start his push-ups by lying flat on his stomach, pushing up into the starting position with a hearty shout of “Marine Corps.” Soldiers, sailors and airmen, however, will drop straight into the “front-leaning rest” position, with the body up and arms fully extended. Ever predisposed to making things more challenging, the Marines must also double dip, doing two push-ups for every one rep counted.

The Army and Air Force say feet can be up to 12 inches apart. Sailors, on the other hand, must keep them together. Soldiers must wear shoes; sailors can take them off. Soldiers can put their hands where they’re comfortable. Marines must put them directly under the shoulders. Airmen must put them out slightly wider. Sailors can place their hands anywhere between the two...

Meanwhile, the Army’s new regs for its PT test say soldiers can do push-ups on their fists (the other services can’t), but soldiers are not allowed to wear glasses (the others don’t say).

For the push-up to count, Marines must briefly touch their chests to the floor. Soldiers and airmen can if they want, but never to rest or bounce to build momentum. Again, the Navy is the strictest — a sailor’s PRT is over if his chest touches the deck.

Yes, but which service allows you to do push-ups from your knees?

(Source: Air Force Times)

Too Fat for Fighting?

The U.S. Army's physical training (PT) program's been revamped: "That familiar standby, the situp, is gone, or almost gone. Exercises that look like pilates or yoga routines are in. And the traditional bane of the new private, the long run, has been downgraded." The new PT regimen incorporates "more stretching, more exercises for the abdomen and lower back," and "more agility and balance training."

Why the change?

[T]he program was created to help address one of the most pressing issues facing the military today: overweight and unfit recruits.

“What we were finding was that the soldiers we’re getting in today’s Army are not in as good shape as they used to be,” said Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who oversees basic training for the Army. “This is not just an Army issue. This is a national issue.”

Excess weight is the leading reason the Army rejects potential recruits. And while that has been true for years, the problem has worsened as the waistlines of America’s youth have expanded. This year, a group of retired generals and admirals released a report titled “Too Fat to Fight.”
“Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physicals each year because they were overweight rose nearly 70 percent,” the report concluded.

Though the Army screens out the seriously obese and completely unfit, it is still finding that many of the recruits who reach basic training have less strength and endurance than privates past. It is the legacy of junk food and video games, compounded by a reduction in gym classes in many high schools, Army officials assert.

As a result, it is harder for recruits to reach Army fitness standards, and more are getting injured along the way. General Hertling said that the percentage of male recruits who failed the most basic fitness test at one training center rose to more than one in five in 2006, up from just 4 percent in 2000. The percentages were higher for women.

Military recruiters are already stuggling with the fact that "up to 9 million Americans ages 17 to 24 -- or nearly 27 percent of the prime military recruiting age demographic -- are 'too fat to serve in the military,'" so I suppose it stands to reason that the Army feels that it's necessary to soften up its PT requirements. But are stretching and yoga sufficient to get our soldiers ready for combat?

(By the way, in case you're interested, here's a description of the Army's current fitness test, and a calculator that scores your results.)

(Source: NYT)