Photo By Senior Airman Aden Brown | U.S. Space Force 1st Lt. Thomas Moriarty, 53rd Space Operations Squadron Detachment 4...... read more read more
Before most Oahu residents begin their day, U.S. Space Force 1st Lt. Thomas Moriarty is already on the road.
Three days a week, Moriarty wakes up around 3 a.m., to make the drive from Mililani to Kakaako, where he trains for more than two hours at a local gym before returning to his duties as an operations officer. For the 48-year-old prior-enlisted Guardian, this routine is not only about lifting heavier weight, but it's also about discipline, longevity and setting a standard that others can follow.
“I do think it's about exceeding the standards, but it’s also just about wanting to live with a high quality of life,” Moriarty said. “I do this for my own quality of life. And so that, if my number’s ever called and I have to go do some physical stuff, I’m not going to be in a bad spot.”
That mindset carried Moriarty beyond the standard of a military fitness test and onto the platform at the 2026 USA Powerlifting Hawaii State Championships.
Competing in the raw, 82.5-kilogram Masters 1B division, Moriarty set six USA Powerlifting Hawaii state records at the Hawaii State Championships on April 25, 2026. His records included a 182.5-kilogram squat, 140-kilogram bench press, 215-kilogram deadlift, 140-kilogram bench press single lift, 355-kilogram push-pull total and 537.5-kilogram total.
“I was 15 pounds off of the 1,200-pound club in my first competition at 47 years old, and there’s definitely more in the tank,” Moriarty said.
As the U.S. Department of War places renewed emphasis on holistic fitness across the military, Moriarty has already spent years putting that approach into practice, not only for himself, but for the service members around him.
While stationed at Fort Eisenhower, Georgia, as a staff sergeant in the Air Force, Moriarty helped another staff sergeant who had failed three physical fitness tests and was facing the possibility of separation if he failed again.
“I went and talked to him and I said, this is what’s going to happen if you want to pass your PT test,” Moriarty said. “You need to go buy a digital scale and weigh out every single piece of food you eat until your PT test. We are not even going to run. You’re going to squat, bench, deadlift and overhead press with me.”
Over the next eight weeks, Moriarty said the Airman lost about 26 pounds. On test day, Moriarty ran beside him.
“He passed and I had tears streaming down my face,” Moriarty said. “I told him, uniform on or off, no matter what I do in the rest of my career, I think this will be my proudest moment in the U.S. military.”
The experience reinforced what Moriarty already believed: Fitness is not only about personal performance, but also about helping others realize what they are capable of.
“To have the knowledge of fitness, weight management, strength training and just be able to pay that forward to everyone I come across,” Moriarty said.
Moriarty said many service members overcomplicate fitness, viewing it as something that requires long workouts, strict routines or major lifestyle changes. To him, the foundation is a lot simpler.
“A lot of people think that fitness requires going to the gym or running or biking or cycling,” Moriarty said. “It is literally as simple as walking a lot and watching what you eat.”
Moriarty said movement throughout the day can build habits without taking over a service member’s schedule.
“You just have to move, whatever flavor that is for you,” he said. “Sitting down all day long is not good.”
Now in the Space Force, Moriarty said he has seen the service continue building its own fitness culture as Guardians take a more consistent approach to physical readiness.
While stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Wahiawa Annex, he said daily physical training has become part of that culture and has even caught the attention of other service members.
“When I’m at the annex gym or the annex track, there’s people in the Navy and they see us in our silver and black, and they’re like, ‘Space Force does PT?’” Moriarty said. “And I’m just like, ‘Yes, every day.’”
Moriarty said that consistency is part of what makes readiness sustainable whether a service member is training for a fitness test, building healthier habits or competing on a platform.
“A lot of it just comes down to identity,” he said. “This has been who I am since I first touched a weight in 1995.”
Moriarty is scheduled to compete at USA Powerlifting West Regionals in Las Vegas in September. If he wins, he could earn a pro card and qualify for Masters Nationals in 2027. He is also considering competing in military nationals to represent the Space Force.
“With my age and being in the Space Force, you’re kind of an underdog, and I love underdog stories,” Moriarty said.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2026 18:12 |
| Story ID: | 570243 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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