Letter to the Editors: Dear Sir, All Senior Officers, Officers and Men of the Malaysian Armed Forces Must Undergo Fitness Test It is most gratifying, motivating and impressive, not to mention brave, to see a US Marine four star general completes the obstacle course and other tests after he underwent the semi-annual Combat Fitness Test (CFT) successfully in Washington, D.C. The CFT is a requirement for all Marines to assess their physical capacity in a broad spectrum of combat-related tasks. How proud we would be if that General was a Malaysian Army general. marinecorpstimes/media/cinematic/gallery/20475557/gen-dunford-runs-the-combat-fitness-test/ marines/becoming-a-marine/how-to-prepare/cft The photo below shows the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., doing a high crawl during his Combat Fitness Test in Washington, D.C. The CFT is a semi-annual requirement for all Marines to assess their physical capacity in a broad spectrum of combat-related tasks. Every Marine must maintain a high level of physical fitness regardless of age, rank or Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). The CFT is a 300-point test with an emphasis on functional fitness related to operational demands. Males and females perform the same exercises but are scored differently, and adjustments are also made for age. Passing the CFT is an annual requirement for all Marines. Performance on the test directly impacts every Marines career, as CFT scores are used to tabulate Composite Scores used for promotions. Among the tests carried out are: - fireman carry - lifting a 30-pound ammunition repeatedly - transports two 30-pound ammunition cans over a set distance repeatedly - Marines must also lift a 30-pound ammo can overhead, until elbows lock out, as many times as possible. - throwing a dummy grenade - complete a timed, 880-yard obstacle course that tests each Marines endurance. - complete a 300-yard shuttle run that incorporates a variety of combat-related tasks, including crawls, carries, ammunition resupply, grenade throwing and agility running. I think it would be good if all soldiers of the Malaysian Armed Forces, including the most senior officer right down to all other ranks, emulate the Americans. Even though CFT is a very tough test it should not be too taxing even if some of the senior officers are approaching 60 years of age as the tests, where male and female soldiers perform the same exercises, are scored differently, and adjustments are also made for age. I notice many present senior Malaysian Armed Forces officers are overweight and obese, and most probably unfit, and it is quite common to see them with big bellies. That does not look good at all, especially when they are in uniforms. Sometimes when our generals become hosts to visiting generals from other countries, their differences in profiles can be seen very clearly and this can be quite an embarrassment. The generals who visit our country do look a lot smarter and slimmer when compared to ours. Come to think about it, even the incumbent Minister of Defence and the new Chief Secretary of the Defence Ministry, are both slim and they both are looking fit and healthy. The annual LIMA ’05 to be held late next year would see many senior officers visiting the exhibition and you can compare the profiles of our senior officers with them and see for yourselves the marked difference that I am referring to above. So, until LIMA ’05, all senior officers, officers and men of the Malaysian Armed Forces who are overweight, obese and physically unfit have more than six months to work on their looks. When I was serving with the Malaysian Army, I do not remember seeing generals(including admirals and air marshals), who were obese or overweight and that made us, the young and the younger officers, very motivated and kept us regularly maintaining our physique, health, fitness and our looks. We were all very proud of that. Then, no one would like or even dared to be fat and unfit. Some of the retired generals who are still around where some have exceeded 80 years of age are still as slim as before. They do not wear glasses, except when reading, and some can still walk unaided and play golf once a while. We were reminded often that as soldiers we must always be alert, agile, fit, and healthy and aspire to look good all the time, especially when we were in our uniforms. Then, ‘leading by example’ was followed ‘to the letter’. The Armed Forces Medical Corp now has dietitians, besides having all the other medical specialists and general practitioners, and all the officers and men of the Malaysian Armed Forces should take advantage of the service offered and for those who find it necessary, try going on a diet as advised by them. Do not smoke or stop smoking totally if possible as everyone knows that smoking is bad for health. The present Malaysian soldiers, however, also do go through fitness tests like the American and our European counterparts but, in our case, they are not made a mandatory requirement. Only during officer cadet/recruit training or those who aspire to become physical fitness instructors or to become members of some elite corps such as the commandos, for example, must complete and pass the tests - the tests are tuned to meet the requirements of the respective corps or services. For the rest of them the tests are optional. Otherwise, Malaysian soldiers go through an annual medical check-up commonly known as PULHHEEMS which is essentially a system of medical classification and not a means to gauge a soldier’s physique or fitness. The PULHHEEMS is a system of grading physical and mental fitness used by Britains armed forces. PULHHEEMS is tri-service, which is to say that it is used by the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Its purpose is to determine the suitability of its employees for posting into military zones. It is not a fitness test as such; rather, it is a test of suitability for purpose. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PULHHEEMS The PULHHEEMS system, or variations of it, is also used by several members of the British Commonwealth, including Singapore, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The USA uses a system called PULHES. In civilian life there is a similar system called PULSES which is used to grade levels of disability; it differs from the PULHHEEMS in that it also examines the digestive system, something which the PULHHEEMS does not. For new recruits it is part of the first step into the armed forces, whilst for established service people it is a requirement of on-going employment. Although a PULHHEEMS is carried out on new recruits, it is not itself an entrance examination, the attributes of which depend on the unit conducting the examination. Acronym: PULHHEEMS is an abbreviation for the factors it is intended to test. These include: Physique Upper limbs Lower limbs (or Locomotion, as this includes the back) Hearing (left) Hearing (right) Eyesight left (corrected / uncorrected) Eyesight right (corrected / uncorrected) Mental function Stability (emotional) The practice is almost similar in America, UK, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries Armed Forces. The examination is carried out on recruits, and five-yearly after a serviceman or woman reaches the age of 30. After the age of 50, people in service are examined every two years. All Generals of any persuasion must be examined yearly. Furthermore, service personnel under the age of 30 are required to undergo a PULHHEEMS in order to attend certain courses, whether occupational or promotional, and also if medically downgraded. A PULHHEEMS is also carried out prior to leaving the armed forces, in part because many former servicemen remain as reserves. The PULHHEEMS examination can result in medical downgrading if fitness standards do not reach required levels, whether as a consequence of injury, neglect, pregnancy, or old age. Downgrading can reduce a servicemans pay, and prevent him or her from attending courses, which in turn can prevent the serviceman from being promoted. Ultimately a serious, permanent medical downgrade can result in discharge from the armed forces on medical grounds. Body Mass Index (BMI) topendsports/testing/tests/BMI.htm# BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It is a measure of body composition. BMI is calculated by taking a persons weight and dividing by their height squared. For instance, if your height is 1.82 meters, the divisor of the calculation will be (1.82 * 1.82) = 3.3124. If your weight is 70.5 kilograms, then your BMI is 21.3 (70.5 / 3.3124) (see calculator links below). The higher the figure the more overweight you are. Like any of these types of measures it is only an indication and other issues such as body type and shape have a bearing as well. Remember, BMI is just a guide - it does not accurately apply to elderly populations, pregnant women or very muscular athletes such as weight lifters. Calculate your own BMI, exercise, diet and improve your looks! topendsports/testing/tests/BMI.htm# Capt. Hussaini Abdul Karim, RAD (Rtd.) Notes to The Editor: Here are the suggested captions to the photos: 1. Photo shows a typical Malaysian General’s profile where many are considered obese and overweight. The senior officer sitting on his left is also a Brig Gen but he is not fat. 2. Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., transports two 30-pound ammunition cans during his Combat Fitness Test. 3. Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., high crawls Monday during his Combat Fitness Test in Washington, D.C. The CFT is a semi-annual requirement for all Marines to assess their physical capacity in a broad spectrum of combat-related tasks. 4. Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., runs his Combat Fitness Test.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 15:19:05 +0000
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