The good news for sailors with PFA problems: currently facing admin separation separation or other consequences from PFA failures: You're getting a do-over, and a new set of easier body fat standards.
The bad news is the service is dropping the number of failures it takes to get booted. is tightening up on failures and reducing the threshold of failures it takes to trip admin separations as well as the period of time they're allowed in.
The bottom line: The Navy is shaking up the body composition assessment, increasing body fat limits for sailors, moving away from career-ending punishments for BCA failures and taking a deeper look at how it measures health in general, as outlined in a service-wide message released Aug. 3.
The shifts changes are part of a new direction course change rudder correction in the Navy's fitness program that's designed to move get away from a punitive system seen as quite punitive to one that encourages year-round fitness, with a focus on helping those struggling to stay fit. focusing on sailor fitness to to fight and works quicker to help those struggling to stay fit or shed pounds with education programs instead of punitive consequences.
"We like to speak of a culture of fitness, but we really haven't implemented a culture of fitness across the Navy," said Vice Adm. Bill Moran, chief of naval personnel, in a July 28 interview. "Fitness should truly be about being healthy and mission readiness — Are you physically fit for times of combat and stress in the fleet? We need a system that speaks to better health, to the readiness of our sailors. And part of that is, are we doing things to encourage a culture of fitness?"
The new rules make it harder to fail the body composition assessment portion of the physical fitness assessment. But that comes at the cost of sailors only getting two failures in three years before getting kicked out.
Moran says said he's heard the sailor's' cries for reform and says said these changes aren't the end, but the beginning of a "more realistic" Navy fitness program that's more than two tests per year. about health and not a twice-a-year test.
Frankly,[he said?] he'sd like a system that could end the biannual twice a year twice-yearly testing cycles, and instead actively gauge fitness and health on a constant, year-round basis, he said.
PFA fail reset
It started with the Navy realizing that there's no "one size fits all" in fitness and certainly not in body composition[he said?].
Moran says said he sees the extremes of at nearly every all-hands call — very fit sailors looking for better recognition and those who say they're in good shape but can't pass the BCA. for being top PT performers with awards or advancement points, and at the same, visit another sailor who's Moran describes as "built a little bit differently" will state they're in good shape, but can't pass the BCA.
"What we've tried to do in this policy change — with the tenets of better health and being mission ready as the focus — is to also make sure we're not throwing out good sailors because we can't meet both ends of that spectrum," Moran said."
Moran sayssaid that with the release of the message, the Navy's fitness program is entering what he calls a "transition" phase during the rest of the calendar year.
Starting now, during this fall's cycle, this means a BCA failure with the current body fat standards no longer equals a PFA failure. Sailors who bust the body fat test will be allowed to take the Physical Readiness Test, but they'll have to enroll in the remedial Fitness Enhancement Program work-outs and nutritional counseling.
Admin separations, if the impacted sailor chooses will stop dead in their tracks and the focus is to get them
That's great news for the many sailors who say they have no problem with the run, sit-ups and push-ups, but consistently fail height and weight standards.
But it gets better.
Sailors on the edge of a forced separation for PFA failures will get a second chance to stay in.
Those with a an already approved or pending administrative separation as of July 1, for or three PFA failures in the past four years, can notify their commanding officers that they'd like to stay in the Navy, then pass an official or mock PRT before Dec.ember 1.
Regardless of And those with any the number of failures in the past three years, sailors meeting standard by the deadline will be reset to one failure starting next year, when new BCA standards take effect. Those who fail the PFA for a third time this fall, if it's their third failure in four years, will still be separated.
But Moran made it clear that appealing the admin separation is [that fighting the separation is?]totally voluntary.
"We're going to give them a chance to continue with the discharge if they don't want to continue in the Navy or reset during this fall period," Moran said.
"Between now and December, if they get down within the new standards and can pass under the new guidance, we reset their failure to one — then if they fail again, they're on the way out."
The move will potentially save thousands of sailors' careers. More than 6,700 active-duty and drilling reserve sailors currently have three PFA failures in the past four years, according to official data, and an additional 20,000 from both components have failed twice in four years.
The new BCA
The next step is raising the threshold for a BCA failure.
Beginning Jan.uary 1, 2016, body fat limits will go beyond the previous under-40 and over-40 age standards, with four new groups.
Men ages 18 to 21 will stay at the previous 22 percent body fat max, but from 22 to 29 they're allowed up to 23 percent, 24 percent between 30 and 39, and up to 26 percent over 40.
For women, it's 33 percent from 18 to 21, 34 percent for 22 to 29, 35 percent for 30 to 39 and 36 percent over 40.
"It's a little more stringent than the DoD standard, but a bit more graduated by age than the current BCA standard," Moran said. "It takes into account the physical changes that happen as we all age, too — so in that way, it's a little more realistic set of standards."
Moran said says the DoD limits are there for a reason and can not be liftednot waiverable for any of the services.
"DoD has established a maximum limit for body fat percentage based on the American Medical Association and other institutions who say, if you exceed that limit, you have reached an obesity level that raises your likelihood for things like cancer or diabetes and other medical issues," Moran said.
"For me, that's the right side limit of where we will allow sailors to be — if you exceed that DoD limit, you are, by definition, obese, at-risk and that's a failure."
Sailors who exceed those body fat standards will be enrolled in FEP, but they won't fail BCA altogether.
How h Starting in January, ifsailors who don't meet the standard height and weight measurements, will first get The next step is a waist-only tape test, which maxes out at 39 inches for men and 35.5 inches for women. Pass that and you're good. It's the current test used by the Air Force as their BCA measurement.
But the Navy is adding yet one more chance for sailors to pass and it's back to the future.
The final chance will be sailors getting the existing and very unpopular "rope and choke" tape test that measures them sthey will be taped at the neck and waist (plus hips for women), to have their body fat then calculates the measurements to a body fat percentage. If that goes For those over the Defense Department's maximum of 26 percent for men and 36 percent for women, it's a total PFA failure.
And a failure will will land that an over-standard sailor who exceed those body fat standards for their age group will be enrolled in the Fitness Enhancement Program. But initially, they won't fail PFA altogether.
And even that, Moran said won't be punitive, but instead it'll be "educational."
"We're going to give you the tools, nutrition guidance, exercise guidance and we're going to have you take the PRT every 30 days until you can pass and until you get down below the new Navy BCA standard," Moran said.
The Navy also plans to develop a Navy-wide registered dietitian plan, giving sailors more access to professional counseling where food choices are concerned.
That's part of a push that includes beefing up the ShipShape healthy eating program and SECNAV's new "Go for Green" initiative, which uses color-codesd tags to advise sailors on the healthiest choices at the galley and also eliminate fried foods.
Unlike the current policy, sailors who fail the BCA will now take the PRT if they're medically cleared.
"We had several thousand of sailors who failed the BCA last year," Moran said. "None of these sailors took the [PRT] last year, so we don't have any idea if whether they're fit at all or capable of carrying on a mission — we just fail them."
The sailor will still be able to take the PRT, however. Previously, sailors with three PFA failures over four years were forced out. Now, with the looser BCA standards, officials are two PFA failures in three years will end in a discharge.
To keep sailors on a fitness path in between PFAs, Moran is encouraging commands to randomly stop sailors for non-punitive body fat spot-checks throughout the year. They could serve as a warning to borderline sailors or result in FEP enrollment ahead of the next testing cycle.
Officials hope the move will cut back significantly on the number of sailors discharged every year for PFA failures, which has totaled thousands in the past four years.
Nearly 1,300 sailors have been discharged because of failures in the 2014 cycles, though those numbers aren't final. That was up from 1,200 in 2013 and over 1,100 in 2012, when the numbers jumped significantly from about 700 in 2011.
Right now, the only changes to the actual Physical Readiness Test will be a return to the old scoring levels eliminated a few years ago. That graduated scoring put intermediate levels of low, medium and high under each of the major categories of satisfactory, excellent and outstanding, something the fleet pushed hard for, Moran said.
"We are going to bring back levels of excellence because it's a way of measuring progress and for CO's to recognize sailors for their fitness level or improvements in their evaluations if they choose to," Moran said.
Long time coming
The Navy's PFA has been the bane of many a sailor's existence for years. In a May speech at the Naval Academy, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus likened it to a twice-a-year crucible, where sailors go to extreme measures to get within standards.
The discussion came to a head last summer, when a list of PFA proposals drafted at a Command Fitness Leaders summit circulated through the ranks and caught fire.
The suggestions included doing away with "bad-day" retests for the PRT, mandatory tape tests and random BCAs throughout the year. Officials acknowledged the list but denied that any of those proposals were hitting the fleet.
Navy Times readers then responded to a call-out with their suggestions for improving the PFA. Chief among them were rethinking or canning the BCA, making CFLs better at taking measurements, more flexible gym hours and incentives for those who consistently score an outstanding on their tests, ideas the Navy took to heart.
Late last year, the Navy Personnel Command instituted a CFL Navy Enlisted Classification, to help commands keep better track of their CFL's qualifications and to help in the search for new fitness coordinators.
Then, in May, Mabus announced there would be changes this year that included fitness standards tied to the job and mission reqirements the new waist-only tape test, BCA spot-checks, expanded gym hours and a new Outstanding Fitness Award, an idea that had been batted around since 2005.
Rewards for maxing out your PFA are two-fold. Those who score an outstanding on one PFA cycle are authorized to wear a badge on their fitness suit, when it comes out next year.
Sailors who max out three PFAs in a row will earn a uniform award, though it hasn't been determined whether it will be a ribbon or a medal. Sailors can expect to see more information in the fall, CNP spokesman Cmdr. Chris Servello said.
And the NavAdmin NAVADMIN says that an award for three consecutive PFA cycles at the "outstanding" level would net a sailor an award. The details aren't included which isn't detailed in the message, but that award won't be a medal or ribbon for the dress uniform, said a Navy official sources say, as previously announced. [MUST CONFIRM WITH SERVELLO IN AM].
Instead, officials say the award will be a badge authorized to be worn on the new fitness suit when it comes out next year it's available.
Some of these, like the award,
The award, which will debut next year, would be a uniform ribbon or medal earned after three consecutive "outstandings" on the PFA.
Individual commands can reward their PT-maxing sailors with perks, like prime parking spots and special leave, the Outstanding Fitness Award would be the first service-wide recognition for PFA superstars.
Looking ahead
The latest policy change NAVADMIN includes several more long-term goals aimed at promoting and measuring sailors' fitness.
Moran said that really, the Navy's goal is to find a way to measure fitness year-round that could eliminate the twice-a-year testing regimen. cycle programBut don't expect that to happen soonnext year.
"These changes are the first step towards making this a year-long process, as opposed to a semi-annual test to get through," he said. "We still have to have the test for a while until we find a better way to to measure mission readiness, to gauge if you are physically fit enough that you can carry out missions at sea."
As Mabus said in May, different jobs could have different fitness requirements — but the bottom line is the Navy needs a way to measure health.
Moran says said that early next year, the Navy will begin a pilot program in yet-to-be-named Pacific Fleet and Navy Reserve units using wearable FitBit fitness trackers like Fitbit [is it FitBit, for sure?].
It's part of what Moran called said is a search to find if "there's ways to measure better health — heart rate blood pressure, cholesterol levels — all things that promote better fitness and result in better performance on the PRT," he said.
"We have to measure it, track it for a full year, but the notion is rather than two annual tests, it's a focus on, are you making improvements and are you meeting standards for weight control, blood pressure cholesterol? Instead of a discussion of, are you inside your height-weight levels and can you pass the PRT? — which is where we are today."
That includes a fitness tracker pilot program in the works, to measure sailors' day-to-day fitness as opposed to relying on twice-a-year testing.
The Navy also plans to develop a Navy-wide Registered Dietitian plan, giving sailors more access to professional counseling where food choices are concerned.
That's part of a push that includes beefing up the ShipShape healthy eating program and SECNAV's new "Go for Green" initiative, which uses color-coded tags to advise sailors on the healthiest choices at the galley[MOVED UP/MF].
Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
