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The Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) testing took place from Aug. 17-24 at the Arvin Cadet Physical Development Center. The test includes a strength deadlift, a seated medicine ball throw, a standing long jump and a beep test.
Capt. Nicolas Ouimet, an instructor in the Department of Physical Education, says the testing is still in its developmental stages.
“It’s still in a diagnostic phase, but it’s an assessment that’s come down through TRADOC (Training and Doctrine Command) to assess the capabilities of individual Soldiers, essentially during the initial entry phase,” Ouimet explained. “For West Point cadets, since they’re still considered in the entry phase of physical periodization, they will take it as well to determine, potentially, which branch they will have the physical capabilities of going into.”
Although the OPAT will not be the one deciding factor to determine branching, Ouimet suggests that it is helpful to determine other facets of fitness.
“Overall, I think it’s a pretty good test. It adds strength which is something, you can argue, you can’t get from the APFT. So when you look at the deadlift, you are using lower body strength. The broad jump is power—strength, speed, and the product thereof is power—which is another aspect we didn’t really test, and as well as the medicine ball throw, so again, upper body power,” Ouimet noted. “We measure upper body muscular endurance with the pushup (in the APFT), but there’s no metric for power. So in that aspect, I think it’s a really good system.”
Since the OPAT’s beginnings roughly a year ago, most parts of the testing remain the same. The strength deadlift, however, has decreased the number of repetitions from three to one and has added the number of weights lifted.
“So far we’ve seen some phenomenal athletic performances,” Ouimet noted. “I think we’re surprised by the level of some of these cadets, both corps squad and non-corps squad, with some of their performances, and that’s something to be congratulated.”
Class of 2017 Cadet Tyler Rettke, the 2nd Regimental Physical Development Officer, is also impressed by his peers’ performances.
“Most people are knocking out the deadlift all the way to the end and we’ve seen some pretty good performances in the shuttle,” Rettke said.
Because Rettke is a firstie, the OPAT will most likely not affect his branching, but he believes it is a good test to determine physical abilities.
“I like it, I don’t think that it’s a replacement for the APFT, but I definitely think that it could be a good measure of where people need to be before they join the force,” Rettke said. “I think it will play a pretty big role in the future and I’m anxious to see how it all plays out.”
Specific standards for the OPAT have not been set, but they will be gender-neutral.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2017 11:25 |
| Story ID: | 222429 |
| Location: | WEST POINT, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, OPAT testing still in developmental stages, making progress, by Michelle Matos, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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