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    APFRI health, fitness program now offered to NCOs

    APFRI health, fitness program now offered to NCOs

    Photo By Guy Volb | Irene Romero, dietician technician, tests Army Master Sgt. Vincent Herrington in the...... read more read more

    FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

    05.18.2010

    Story by Guy Volb 

    The NCO Leadership Center of Excellence

    FORT BLISS, Texas -- Initially developed to avert cardiovascular disease among senior Army officers, the Army Physical Fitness Research Institute's Executive Health and Fitness Assessment Program now offers the same benefits to non-commissioned officers here.

    The APFRI program, sponsored by the Army War College, includes fitness, health and mental wellbeing components and comes on the heels of nearly three decades of assessments offered AWC students. It was the vision of Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey who, having recognized the importance of the program, wanted to see the APFRI mission expand and partnered with Professional Military Education on the enlisted side as well.

    The fitness portion focuses on body composition, strength and flexibility. The health component looks at stress, cholesterol, blood pressure, nutrition and aerobic capacity. Soldier's mental wellbeing is addressed via surveys and personal dialogue. Again, the focus is on health and fitness that truly benefits Soldiers.

    So what was a pilot program at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy in 2004, now has proven valuable enough to approve 10 more mini-APFRI sites at Army senior leader courses around the nation in 2014.

    "In 2004 APFRI studied the population attending USASMA and Command and General Staff College," said Army Lt. Col. Tracy Smith, deputy director of the APFRI USASMA annex. "What we found was that, despite being younger in age, the sergeant majors and majors had more issues with cholesterol, hypertension, stress and sleep difficulties." In 2008, annexes were opened in both locations.

    APFRI is also setting out to further enhance the fitness component of the program. They now offer a Soldier-Athlete Deployment Fitness series which takes into consideration the rigors of combat-related duty.

    That means working on an individual's core strength, and adding balance and agility exercises to workout regimens.

    "These exercises provide training for Soldier fitness that is actually related to tasks in combat," said Smith. "The program provides our senior leaders with the capability to maintain optimum health and fitness in a sustained, operational environment." Across all annexes, APFRI has aligned itself with Professional Military Education organizations such as USASMA, which prides itself as a leader in advancing enlisted education.

    "We did this for two critical reasons," said Smith. "First, it provides an avenue for our senior leaders to learn more about their own health and fitness, as well as the needs of their Soldiers and families. Second, it's an opportunity for them to take advantage of a 'down' turn in operational tempo for them while at school. They're better able to focus on their own health and fitness." Operational tempo in the Army has been a big influence on such programs.

    "Reflecting on the past eight years of war and our deployment experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, we can now begin to understand the individual health and resilience problems associated with our deployment tempo," said Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth Preston, in a letter to the troops.
    And so APFRI's Executive Health and Fitness Assessment Program wants to provide the type of insight in health, fitness and nutrition that readies troops for those hardships associated with combat. As a collateral benefit, it indirectly supports Preston's focus on the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, which looks at five dimensions of strength validated by the World Health Organization to include: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and family.

    "We're getting outstanding results," said Smith, regarding the APFRI program. "The 80 to 85 percent of USASMA students who take advantage of the program here say it's 'outstanding,' that it provides a great deal of health and fitness insight to senior leaders."

    The results, it's hoped, will not only go a long way toward curbing cardiovascular disease among senior officer and enlisted Soldiers, but also help prepare both for combat related challenges from a health and physical fitness perspective.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 05.18.2010
    Date Posted: 05.18.2010 14:44
    Story ID: 49901
    Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US

    Web Views: 288
    Downloads: 183

    PUBLIC DOMAIN