Fitness crackdown pushed to war zones

[unhappycamper]

A group of Marines from the I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group lift kettlebells during intense physical training at the Group headquarters building in Camp Fallujah, Iraq.


Fitness crackdown pushed to war zones
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday May 8, 2008 6:38:59 EDT

Combat deployments come with a long list of stressors.

The seemingly endless cycle of workdays, Spartan living conditions, distance from family. Add the chance of death or disability from a sniper’s bullet or roadside bomb, and it’s easy to get discouraged.

Now, Marines can add one more anxiety to the list — worrying about getting fat.

That’s the message the Corps sent out April 23, when senior leaders revoked the combat-zone exemption for the Body Composition Program. Now, some Marines will have to fight their weight while fighting the enemy, or risk a blemish on their permanent record.

“Deployment to a combat zone no longer automatically places affected Marines in an inactive (Body Composition Program) status,” a Corps-wide message announced April 23.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/05/marine_combatbcp_050708w/

[CRK7376]

1. I did PT

while in Afghanistan. Daily patrols outside the wire in full battle rattle, and when the team was back inside the compound we would do our PT. pushups/situps, used a few free weights, and we were lucky our teams bought a Bowflex machine. Running was not that easy...our perimeter wall was about 150yards by 75 yards so it took lots of laps to make up for a mile or two. Didn't worry about distance there. Just ran against the clock. Our Afghan Secruity guys just looked at us like we were crazy for running...fought the boredom. Small outpost in the middle of nowhere....

[unhappycamper]

2. Welcome home, Brother.

I don't recall all the crap I did at fire bases around Chu Lai, but running around not part of it.