GW sailors put to the test with Navy-wide PRT

PHILIPPINE SEA, AT SEA

12.02.2013

Courtesy Story

USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73)

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paolo Bayas

PHILIPPINE SEA - The U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) is currently conducting the Navy-wide bi-annual physical readiness test at sea.

Lt. Kacee Jossis, George Washington’s command fitness leader, and assistant command fitness leaders, collaborated to organize a precise schedule for more than 3,200 sailors followed to complete their biannual test.

“The challenge that we faced conducting this PRT was to make time to work around the ongoing operations and to fit it in everyone’s schedule,” said Jossis. “However, everyone has been extremely helpful in providing a space for us to move if we had to change locations in the hangar bay. The [weapons officer] and [ordinance handling officer] actually allocated space for us to conduct the PRT during their offload operation.”

Sailors were given the option to conduct their PRT aboard the ship using an approved bicycle, treadmill or elliptical or wait to conduct their PRT on the approved track after returning to Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka.

“It’s very convenient to complete the PRT while we are underway, especially for people who are going on leave,” said Aerographer’s Mate 3rd Class Takeo Wadriski, from Loxley, Ala. “It might have been more difficult for some people to run on the treadmill because of the ship rocking up, down, left and right; however, it could have also helped them because they were able to monitor their run time more closely and achieve the time they wanted to.”

George Washington offered at least 46 classes per week to improve Sailors’ physical fitness levels.

“The instructors who taught the classes allowed our sailors to just show up to a class and guaranteed a good work out,” said Jossis. “Also, our ACFLs are absolutely amazing. I don’t think that we could have done it without them to ensure their departments were good to go. There was always a department ACFL who was there to help.”

The PRT sets the physical standard sailors should be able to perform in three categories - sit-ups, pushups and a cardiovascular exercise of choice. Each sailor is then given a score of satisfactory, good, excellent, outstanding or maximum depending on how they perform.

George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interest of the U.S. and its partners and allies in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

• Date Taken: 12.02.2013
• Date Posted: 12.02.2013 04:31
• Story ID: 117589
• Location: PHILIPPINE SEA, AT SEA
• Hometown: LOXLEY, ALABAMA, US