Masters of Fitness

Photo By Staff Sgt. Nicole Hall | Second Lt. Claire Marlow, executive officer of Headquarters Support Company, 602nd Aviation Support Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, completes a two-mile run during a physical fitness test March 19 at Camp Casey, South Korea. Each Master Fitness Trainer Course candidate within the 2nd Inf. Div. must complete a series of physical fitness tests prior to being selected to attend the course.  

CAMP CASEY, 26, SOUTH KOREA

03.20.2014

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Vincent Abril 

2nd Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP CASEY, South Korea - It’s said that becoming a master of anything takes commitment and focus. Leaders across the Warrior Division showed their willingness to become masters.

On March 19, leaders from the 2nd Infantry Division began arriving at the Schoonover Bowl, which is a sports stadium located on Camp Casey, South Korea. It was a show of commitment and focus as they prepared to take a difficult physical readiness test – another step on the path to becoming a Master Fitness Trainer. The test involved pushups, situps and running, which would determine their ability to attend the Eighth U.S. Army Master Fitness Trainer Course given by a mobile training team from the U.S.

The Department of the Army course is designed to train selected commissioned and noncommissioned officers in all aspects of the physical fitness training. If a candidate graduates, he or she will become unit advisers on physical readiness training. They will be tasked to assist their command by advising and monitoring unit physical readiness programs, which is why it may be important to select the right people who are up to the task.

“The Master Fitness Trainer Course is designed to equip these leaders with knowledge they can bring back to their respective units as the trainers of trainers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew J. Spano, senior enlisted adviser of the 2nd Inf. Div. “A candidate for the course must be the right kind of leader that can absorb the information and have no problem communicating that information to a company, troop or battery command team."

Second Lt. Claire Marlow, executive officer of Headquarters Support Company, 602nd Aviation Support Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, is a course candidate and feels her attendance could pay off in the long run.

“Learning to be a subject matter expert in physical readiness training will enable me to help my unit meet the standard while improving overall Soldier fitness,” said Marlow. “This will lead to improved morale and other positive aspects of a Soldier's life while instilling discipline.”

Improved Soldier morale and discipline are seen as important outcomes of sharing knowledge learned in the course, but reaching for this opportunity and doing it for the right reasons are also a plus.

“I love physical training and being physically fit,” said Sgt. James Jon, an advance field artillery tactical data system specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Inf. Div., and a native of Orange County, Calif. “We as noncommissioned officers must set a good example for our Soldiers. We must be physically fit because when Soldiers see we are fit, it motivates them to want and do the same. This course, which I hope to attend, will allow me to better serve my command and our Soldiers.”

For more information on how to take part in this opportunity, please contact your chain of command and express your interest in becoming a master and distinguished leader of fitness training.

• Date Taken: 03.20.2014
• Date Posted: 04.08.2014 21:03
• Story ID: 125038
• Location: CAMP CASEY, 26, KR
• Hometown: ORANGE COUNTY, CA, US