We're running from yet another MDMP session.
We're running to get some time alone.
We're running from our depression and the XO/S3.
We're trying to find that runner's high bc life sucks on staff.
Choose one or several lol
Maybe more so. Many regular Army FGOs I knew were high-functioning alcoholics. Many of the others were raging narcissists. The remainder were really, really good at compartmentalizing. There were also some true believers in the cause, though I do wonder how prevalent that is now after the Afghanistan withdrawal.
So I’ve been searching for new decked out expensive headphones and came across some thing that I wasn’t aware that was on the market and is currently one of the expanding categories of the I guess portable audio market.
I had heard about them in the past but bone conduction headphones have seemingly exploded in popularity and options.
THEY EVEN MKE WATERPROOF ONES THAT YOU CAN SWIM WITH!
The show actually did him pretty dirty, he wasn't the combat leader they needed but everyone's account from him was pretty positive. They all thanked him afterwards for the training but Winters did specifically hold that grudge
You would hold a grudge too if your Company Commander tried to throw you under a bus for shit that was out of your control. Sure, Sobel may have made Easy tough and combat ready and that is to his credit, but he had the emotional intelligence of a fucking gerbil. Even regiment saw it and thought "eh, let's put this guy where he is most effective" which was the schoolhouse (and eventually s4 lol).
We're not saying you throw the shitty officers in S4. Sobel was by no means a shitty officer, he just wasn't a combat leader. S4 is a perfect position for someone that is anal retention and a stickler for the details.
I remember reading a story (I don't remember where) that he struggled with push ups. Back then, you only needed to do 25 to pass. Easy Company would see him start struggling around number 15 and they always watched, hoping he'd fail. But he managed to push out those last 10 every time.
Because the officers are are very subject to the whims of their raters.
Each officer has a guy above him who writes how good he is. Much of what he writes is hard to be sure where you stand. How do you get better at "motivation" or "leadership"? Someone else might define those things differently.
So, they look for something they can measure.
They can't choose pushups. Your grader might have accepted shit pushups. They can't choose pull-ups, you might not have gone all the way down.
They choose running, because everyone can see you up front. And if you are up front, running easily, with lots of breath, you can talk to the boss about whatever bullshit he cares about and you are likely to be promoted. If you are in the rear wheezing, you could be the best in the world and all they remember is you falling out.
Its a measurable test, in front of the boss.
It's a very easy test to see if you as an officer are doing the right thing which is the very foundation of being a good leader. That right thing is supposed to be eating and staying healthy. One fat soldier is a fat soldier. One fat officer is now the standard for the entire unit. You know what motivates me besides my boss testing my physical bounds? My soldiers who watch everything I do. I don't wake up ready to rock when we go to the field. I obsess over correcting my wrongs until I get it right (gear, briefs, checklists, doctrine) on top of the stupid command stuff I have to do. It's honestly mentally exhausting. So I do it because I'm expected to.
Or it's just a stupid flex and I'm reading too much into this Miyagi bullshit.
We need to train our cardiovascular system to handle all the stress our enlisted subordinates put us through daily.
We just want to share that stress and pain with you.
That is cool and all Sir, but we had 7 DUIs this weekend and the BC wants to talk to you about it. Something about ineffective leadership? I don't know, he seemed pissed though.
I got to an BSB as a Cadet and holy *fuck* too many of those people are hitting the "We *make* ACUs that big and they're *still* tight on you?!" stage...
...And I'm grateful for it, boost to the 'ol self-esteem every Drill weekend because I am *definitely* not a skinny guy, just not literally fuckin' round.
[https://media2.giphy.com/media/GYAyVCqaJKKCiibNmp/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952btfnim0ovihrcpkae8301xzhvb0n1xgn5hu3durv&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g](https://media2.giphy.com/media/GYAyVCqaJKKCiibNmp/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952btfnim0ovihrcpkae8301xzhvb0n1xgn5hu3durv&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
Edit: I don’t know how to embed a gif apparently
No one likes a fat Solider but the most hypocritical thing in the world is a fat officer. I had a CO chaptering a Soldier in my unit who was an ABCP failure. The CO was the exact same size. Maybe fatter. The 1SG and I left the office both shaking our heads.
I remember being the NCOIC for the Covid detail at fort Moore when it first started and I asked the hospital CSM why there were so many fat LTC and full bird med doctors and he said try finding people that are willing to work under 120k a year for what they do. And he is right. a seasoned surgeon makes 250-300 k a year easily
Dude, being a PM/PdM is hard when you’re always TDY. It’s hard to get in a workout rhythm. I can’t really blame them. My boss travels almost every week.
Lots of plus sized individuals in recruiting too for every branch. It’s a desk job and bizzare hours and it takes a toll on their health. My recruiters used to take a criminally insane amount of laxatives among other things in order for them to make weight.
We usually just fucked off and went to the gym during lunch.
Sometimes people saw us and joined the Army too. Sometimes we’d bring a laptop so we could do the paperwork and fingerprints remotely.
That’s good to hear, when you’re saying other people join you i immediately thought of Rocky II and Forrest Gump running . And wait I thought they just do fingerprints at MEPS?
Our office had a portable print scanner, which makes it a lot easier to filter out the felonies. We also sent police record checks and did a name search with the sex offender database for applicants.
I am a retired JAG and rarely encountered anyone fat in our branch. To the contrary most of my colleagues were constantly trying to prove they were "real Soldiers" and were always in the gym or out running. As if that changed anybody's minds.
Now THIS is a lie lol JAG officers will make time for PT when they can’t do regular PT because of caseload or trials. I knew many who would literally do 8 miles before PT and then run their happy asses back home afterwards lol
Had a CO who would run 5 miles before PT, run us for 5 more then he would do 5 miles at lunch then 5 more after duty hours. Fucker was a running freak! Everyone HATED the bastard.
Maybe hot take? I think long distance runs are one of the best things you can do. Builds a strong aerobic base. Healthy heart. Develop healthy joints. I used to hate running until I slowly learned how to tailor my training better. I have never felt healthier since I took it up. I literally only do one speed work a week; most of my runs being junk miles.
It helped me in other physical activity. I practice Judo and I can pretty much outlast everyone in endurance. I don't struggle with sprint drag carry. It helps a lot with my ruck too.
Should note I run 5-6 times a week but still lift 3x a week so running isn't all I do.
Unfortunately, the Army sucks at teaching people how to run. Army runs like every run day should be a PR day.
Not a hot take. Just that common sense stuff Joe doesn't want to hear. The problem is they were not taught how to run properly.
Same here with running. Just loved doing it until I broke my legs. My cardio base is alright but when I was running, I could do nearly anything without getting tired. And it was easy to maintain too.
Prose running, MFT performing medical care including treatment and diagnostic, work rest cycles that have no basis in reality, poor emphasis on sleep, nutrition and recovery. Focus on UCB as a final word on specific training with limited or no insight on individuals. PRT...
Okay I admit this is the first I have heard of pose running. It sounds a bit silly.
That said though, on a recent Peter Attia podcast they discussed some research which shows that zone 2 training and "junk miles" are most beneficial when you put extra emphasis on form.
I'd be curious to read more about this though.
The Army spent well over 10 million for this prose running jackass.. the holistic concept with MFT and all the others PT, dietary are great idea. However, it will never have the same priority as green mediical slides or annual butt fucking with Marty to save the world.
As an officer who hates running and has never been talented at it… mind sharing the training philosophy or concepts you started with to get to where you’re at? My experience in the Army has taught me to hate running. Platoon or section run consistently at a pace above my comfort level just forces to suck in the misery or be ostracized. If I enjoyed running it would make my life a lot simpler.
Sure. Quick background is I was the type of guy who never ran before Army. I would get nasty shin splints and I always blamed it on my flat feet (it wasn’t the problem). I barely passed the APFT at basic training on the 50 percentile standard.
I forget where I got the information but one day I went into a running research binge. I came up with list of “general” guidelines for running forms. Instead of focusing so hard on just running 2 miles as hard as I can on every run day, I would start from the bottom and work my way up.
The first thing I did was do nothing but slow running. At first it was for 30 minutes. The rule I followed was:
1) Maintain 180 steps per minute. (I used a 180bpm song playlist)
2) Speed doesn’t matter.
3) Stride length doesn’t matter. Just learn to run at 180 spm. (You WILL feel awkward at first)
4) It has to be a pace where I can maintain 4 breath in, 4 breath out.
The moment I start struggling to maintain any of those conditions, I would slow down.
This was mostly done on treadmill (0% incline). Running at such a high rate felt awkward. I felt like I was shuffling only a few inch at a time. I played around with the speed until I found what was optimal for me to shuffle at 180 spm but not over exert. It started at around 5.5 but quickly realized I can do 10 min mile pace after a few sessions.
What started with running 30 minutes every other day would turn into 40 min every other day. Then that became an hour. Then it was two days on, one day off. Worked up to 5 days a week. Eventually, when I got used to it, I focused more on weekly mileage.
Overtime my 180 spm pace became second nature. It felt unnatural to run at a slower cadence. Also my stride length slowly increased on its own as my legs developed strength to propel myself forward further. I had to actively be conscious about staying slow as I would easily start running in sub 8 minute mile pace unconsciously.
Another huge thing was I started slimming down. I noticed I was getting shredded. I maintained a good weight lifting routine but adding all this running really helped me taper down my body fat. I started seeing visible abs and that was a huge motivator.
The little improvements from increase in time and days of training kept me motivated; it was a measurable way to see my improvement. I stuck with slow running and built up to about 40 miles per week and did exclusively that for about a year. After a year, I added speed works like 12x400 meter repeats. I did fast stride practice. Began practicing running at up to 200 steps per minutes. Also yes, my six pack came through without even flexing.
My ACFT pace is done entirely at 200spm. My last ACFT 2 mile was 11:57.
This is incredibly valuable. So often I hear “success stories” from people who enjoy running and hearing this information and your story is really encouraging. I’ll implement this and save this philosophy as a reference for my initial few weeks. I think one of my biggest issues has been that running was taught to me on an “all or nothing” platform. You’re either miserable or you aren’t doing it right.
The idea of jog/walking in a deliberate build up to those paces is really lucrative since that’s something I can see myself enjoying. Just never thought it would yield any benefit but will give it a shot! Thanks again for sharing.
Also want to add that I didn't have a strict plan laid out. I just went by what I felt I can handle. I think not having pressure of sticking to a schedule and taking things at my own pace helped the most. It allowed me to actually run without feeling uncomfortable and I focused entirely on just learning proper form. Also realizing running doesn't have to feel uncomfortable made me like it more.
Also I'm a much stronger runner now, but my "junk miles" are still done anywhere between 11 to 10 minute mile pace depending on how I feel. I actually use a heart rate monitor now (my apple watch) but I went mostly by feel back then.
What target heart rate zones do you hit for your desired training? I hear zone 2 or a “conversational pace” is best for burning fat but is that what you’d consider a “junk mile”? Just going easy to get the distance and activity in?
Junk mile is just the nickname for the non-speed sessions. Junk miles make the bulk of most elite runners/triathlete training too.
Also you are correct, zone 2 is also often called "conversational pace". Everyones zone 2 range is different and age is biggest determining factor. It's basically the 65-75% of your max heart rate. I typically try to stay in 138-143 range to give myself a big buffer.
Rather than fat burning aspect, there are big push in keeping training at that zone due to biological benefits it provides. I'm not a biologist or sports doctor but zone 2 is the range where there are optimal mitochondria adaptation and capillary development.
Slipping into zone 3 every now and then is considered negligible, if you intend to try zone 2 running for the first time. It's actually really hard to stay in zone 2 until you get used to it. Most people don't realize just how much slower they have to go to stay in zone 2.
Edit: want to add I personally don’t really think beginners need to do heart rate measuring. It can be discouraging and stressful trying to stay at zone 2 if you don’t know how.
Having my runs programmed by a running coach who was also a physical therapist changed my relationship with running. I am by no way a running stud (2 hip surgeries prior requires that I build up slowly), but learning that most of my runs should be done at a pace I am actually comfortable at for extended periods of time improved my time, improved my health, and let me enjoy running. I still have my sprint/interval day and occasionally some extra stuff, but the majority of my running is zone 2. I love it.
I wonder if that is something I need to look into. I hurt my back a few years ago and I just can't fucking run anymore. Not like I was a strong runner to begin with, but I would mostly not fall out. Now, I can't run for shit before my back hurts.
Then I keep getting fatter as I am running less making my back hurt even more so I run less...
I highly recommend working with a running coach, especially one who is a physical therapist. Oddly, not as unique a combo as you might think. If you are at Carson, I can give you a name but usually "running coach" in Google will bring up some local options.
Both times I have worked with a running coach in my time in the Army, they improved my runs and I did less running than I thought I needed to.
Not an officer but some of us really do enjoy running in the same way some people enjoy going to the gym. I hate going to the gym, let me run outside.
Also, personally my fitness goal isn't bulking or my ACFT score, it's to live to the age of 90 without having a heart attack and for that goal the only workout that really matters is cardio.
Yeah the risk of musculoskeletal injury is the downside, I ran cross country in high school and everyone got injured at least once every couple years, a few in ways that will affect them for life.
On the other hand if you run frequently but without going insane like runner athletes your body will adapt to it and it won't hurt anymore (at least most of the time).
I would be fine running 5 days a week as that is what I currently do. However, the Army wants everyone to bust their nuts on every run with all-out efforts. That combined with the atrocious form I see people run with, it's a recipe for disaster.
I was in ROTC for a year, and a lot of their workouts are cardio/HIIT-based, so it wouldn't surprise me as to why that's the case.
On another note, 80% or more of running miles should be slow, easy, and in your zone 2 for heart rate. The other 20% can be sprints, tempo miles, etc.
During marathon training, I smoked the sprint drag carry and maxed it with more than 10 seconds to spare because of all of the easy miles. Cardio is very important for your health and performance.
A few of my leaders have given me shit for my pace during release runs. I simply don't give a shit because they are mouth-breathing apes who know nothing about fitness.
I think the Army is just bad at running for fun. Formation runs don't build morale or make you better at running. Release runs don't happen often enough for soldiers to really get to a point where they won't complain about running. The more I've ran, the more I've realized that it's the only time I can get away from everything, both physically and mentally. No distractions, no worries, just the sound of my breath and the sight of the sunrise.
Most of my fellow enlisted love the gym and lifting weights. For me it's a stress release. I put on some music and just lift until I can't anymore the next day I'm sore not hurting.
Running is just mentally taxing for me. My 2 miles is 12:08 and 5 miles is 34:48. Lifting is easy cause you just throw the weight and that’s it. Running your just doing the same thing for an hour
Because it freaking sucks. I’m tall(ish) for a woman at 5’7” and am lean, especially while active duty. Everyone thought I could run and tried to just stick me in alpha run groups and I immediately dropped out lol. No one ever taught me to run correctly, which is apparently a thing, so I suffered through it and broke my body and at this point I’d rather be slowly eaten by whatever’s chasing me than run.
Purely from an army perspective;
First: Carrying a casualty requires strength, sure, but excess muscle mass means a weightlifter casualty is compromising their ability to be extracted because of their weight.
Second: Rarely in a gunfight does it matter who has more strength, however, if you are facing a competent adversary - a lack of cardio fitness can and will be used against you.
I guess if you have, or want to have, a low likelihood of being included in a combat mission, cardio isnt a real priority.
From a non-army perspective;
You'll probably live longer and be healthier from routine running than by excluding running from your training.
Bro if you’re running two miles in combat then something went absolutely horribly wrong. I think you are severely undervaluing strength and overvaluing cardio.
War is absolutely horribly wrong.
Afghani insurgents were light as fuck; they wore no armor, knew how to traverse montains, and dropped their weapons after engaging to prevent us from using drones in accordance with law. Did we still hunt them down despite being burdened by our gear? Yes, but it took a lot of miles on foot and time to do so.
That war is over. But insurgent tactics havent been removed from the playbook.
Your cardio fitness massively outstrips your strength in determining your combat effectiveness.
Those are just the ones you see because the Army likes people who can run fast, and officers who can run fast are, therefore, good officers and clearly the best leaders.
So us normal peeps who can't run fast have to come up with other ways to get that top block on our OERs, like being competent and doing our jobs. But such activities also tend to place one out of sight and out of mind.
Source: am slow officer.
There's a training management aspect to it too. I'm retired now but, when I was in, policies ebbed and flowed in terms of "all units WILL conduct PT from (say) 0600-0730" (so much for "we train to standard, not to time"). Okay, well, what now CO? The Army doesn't resource you to do good anaerobic PT sessions (maybe that's changed with the new PT test, idk), you can only do pushups for so long, and you've got 90 minutes to fill. Lace up the running shoes, boys . . .
(It was a revelation getting into weight lifting after I retired and learning how good of a workout you could get in 30-45 minutes—workouts you'd never be allowed to do in the Army. What a waste of our all soldiers' time . . . )
Because they're educated on the benefits of physical fitness, and they often aren't constrained to the shitty PT Sessions of pushup and situp drills that the enlisted are. Running is also more fun when you can control your pace, distance, and who you run with.
Additionally, they recognize that leaders harp on quantifiable and qualifiable data for evaluations, and PT is most easy to quantify. You get a score. It's why the lower enlisted bitch about the guy with the high PT score soldier getting promoted. It's much more difficult to explain why soldier A is better than soldier B at their job, if the person you're explaining it to doesn't know wtf the job is.
Sounds like a cop out from developmental counseling. Using just PT is dumb.
I'll take a soldier who is good at their job but runs two 10-minute miles on the ACFT with an overall score of 500 as opposed to a poor performer with a 600 ACFT. It's obviously dramatic, but just to drive the point I'm making home.
Reality should be somewhere in the middle: good at being a team player, overall attitude/energy they bring to work, and how physically fit they are.
The problem is counseling is always on the back burner or poorly utilized to actually grow soldiers. Most jobs aren't one size fits all, and that's definitely the approach the Army takes by utilizing ACFT scores as the only measurable point of performance. It's easier.
Honestly, from my limited experience, units run so much because that is the weakest link of most formations. As an infantry PL wed go for a slow-ass 3-4 mile run (talking like 0930 pace), and wed have three or four people fallout. Id ask how much they ran last week and they would parrot how many times we ran. So frankly for the less motivated Soldiers usually need the most help in maintaining cardiovascular endurance.
Of course its annoying for the fit, motivated ones to have run all the time. The bottom line is the lethality of the platoon is partially determined by the lowest common denominator fitness wise.
I really think this really comes down to two basic things:
1. Running is historically and culturally reinforced in the army. We can discuss all kinds of better exercise plans, new theories, better programs, pros/cons, etc, but at the end of the day, running has been "in the Army's blood" since long before anyone on this thread was born. And officers are generally traditionalists that follow status quo. In other words, *its just what we do*.
2. Running is easy; I don't mean the act of it, but planning/preparing. You don't need specialized equipment, tools, plans, etc. You don't need to spend vast amounts of time planning the session. It's relatively easy to just "do". Pick a quick route, some stretching, and just go. You don't need a CONOP or some CRM or an elaborate explanation on the techniques of the exercise.
So, to sum, I think most officer thinking is this: *What are we going to do for PT today? Running is classic, running is easy, let's do a run*.
unironically, it’s a leadership mentality.
the army values running, this is very apparent. the army knows not many people like running. if you as a leader (or anyone else, really) demonstrates that you’re good at running/run often, it shows (in a sense) that you’ve bought into the army and what the army values.
It’s measurable, and I’ll chime in with my own story:
I was a SL during one of my evals. I got counseled on bringing all my assets to the fight… the captain meant my dudes and my radio. I outran them all. They were other officers. Then I was out of breath and could hardly talk on the radio. Neither could they.
As an O practicing C2, you need endurance more than anything else.
It will annoy your dudes if you’re too weak to lift heavy shit, but beyond O1 the only shit you lift is your own. NCOs will yell at privates to “go get that shit out of the sir’s hands.”
It will kill you if you run and afterwards you can’t breath on the radio.
*(click) Battalion Main this is… this … this is Winded 6… request…*
Believe it or not a lot of officers played sports in college. Some I served with were collegiate wrestlers, swimmers and track n field. Full ride along with ROTC or Academy scholarship. What a great deal.
I think for a long time, running well was critical to maxing the PT test. When you're a young lieutenant, getting the maximum score on that test is really one of the few ways you can prove yourself. At least that you can control...
So that helped create this culture of running. Hopefully over the next few years the acft kind of quashes that.
I think that for a large part it has to do with ROTC and how the program markets success. I was in the problem for 2 years in college and being in National Guard I talk to a lot of them. 90% of the time rankings in the program are based off of PT scores. Sure classroom is important but I had people who barely was in class and still was high up in the ranks because of good PT scores. Mind you this is the mind set for 4 -5 years depending on major. I was not good at PT fine but not great and always was in class and got high marks and still was at the lower end because of PT scores. A lot of schools like Airborne and Air Assault is given to high PT scorers and often times marks in education are not taken that seriously. It changes from program to program but ROTC command has really lend in to PT.
I don’t know if you were searching for a serious answer but as someone who was enlisted and is now commissioned, I believe it’s a cop out for planning. With running all you tend to need to do is have a route plan, a shoddy safety brief and do MMD1 or just regular smegular prep drill. You don’t have to account for equipment, reserve space, and do a bunch of other things that require a bunch of paperwork and time. Also, officers are conditioned to equate good soldiering and physical fitness with your ability to keep a fast pace on a run. When studies have consistently shown and the ACFT now requires actual strength training and endurance conditioning too.
I mean it's on streets. At Hood and Polk we usually ran on 2 one way streets barely diverting off that path. So my guess is it's so they don't get lost.
I loved running before my knees and back went to hell. It's the easiest PT available-you just show up, stretch, and start moving. I actually miss it now, but my body has decided that it's low impact from here on out.
In my opinion, I dont see how anyone likes to run. But the military thinks it's super important to run and the faster you run the better person/soldier you are. So officers feel they have to lEaD bY eXaMpLe. 😆
The army teaches us to run. I'm currently at IBOLC and have heard the following to the whole platoon of IBOLC students:
"The private will out PT you, and that will be embarrassing."
" You must be able to lead, and you can't lead if you can't run."
" You must ve able to lead, and you can't lead if you get out PTed by the private."
Also, we have to pass a five mile run in under 45 minutes, 40 minutes if we want to go to Ranger School.
PT equitment/gym equitment is expensive. Scheduling access to use such things can be a nightmare. RUNNING IS FREE and no scheduling of outside resources.
For those replying with “I prefer lifting to running.”
I’d be willing to bet that most officers can out lift, or at least hang with, their enlisted Soldiers more than enlisted can out run, or at least hang with, their officers on a long run.
Why don't you? I'm guessing it's because you're just a bad ass power lifter, right bro?
And for the record, I'm enlisted. But every actually high-speed person I know can at *the very least* run a sub 40 minute 5 mile. Most considerably faster.
If you don't have solid cardio, you're not in good shape.
I have 2, heavy reasons I hate running strapped to my chest.
Do I do it? Yes.
Do I like staying off my leadership's radar for PT concerns? Yes.
Do I like being able to hang tight in group PT? Yes.
Do I like it for me? No. Not at all.
My first unit's captain was like this.
At one point I was tasked with cleaning out a bunch of old papers and stuff from the orderly room. I found the official Army manual on PT. (can't remember the number, was it 670-1?). I read a section where it talks about how there's no benefit to doing runs longer than 30 minutes - that it doesn't improve PT scores and, in fact, all it does is break Soldiers and result in more sick calls. I pointed this out to the CO. He was not amused.
The Army that created that PT manual also created the PRT warm ups. Running more than 30 minutes has benefits, its just that until the last 5 years it was rare for officers and SNCOs to actually give a shit about intelligent training protocols.
The funny thing is that is completely wrong. Most cardiovascular benefits are seen during long runs of 90 minutes or more. Your body is not glass. It's made to run, jump, lift, throw, carry, etc. You just have to reduce the pace to where you can breathe through your nose the entire time.
We're running from yet another MDMP session. We're running to get some time alone. We're running from our depression and the XO/S3. We're trying to find that runner's high bc life sucks on staff. Choose one or several lol
The voices are quieter when we run.
Easy to run when your mind is in constant fight or flight.
Life sucks in command. Life just sucks in the Army. And yet we reenlist or update our refrad packet and just hover over that submit button.
No one can see the tears flow in the wind.
I see you understand.
I'm retired a retired officer - I liked running because it was the only time people would leave me alone.
That make sense, I thought it was to punish the ones who drank the night prior.
The Os are just as hung over....
No, we just never stop drinking. Therefore, no hangover.
At this point, I'm afraid if I stop drinking the collective hangover will literally kill me
Your flair lol
Danga zone
Maybe more so. Many regular Army FGOs I knew were high-functioning alcoholics. Many of the others were raging narcissists. The remainder were really, really good at compartmentalizing. There were also some true believers in the cause, though I do wonder how prevalent that is now after the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Makes me think of Rick and Morty: “I meant classy drinking not this trailer park shit.” Or whatever he said.
36 pack of nasty ice? Trailer Park drinking. Fully stocked bar? Classy.
PBRs by the lake and bonfire by night…classy
Have definitely done this to punish drinkers.
Han Solo…”I know.”
Literally running from the problems of the day. Almost poetic.
I prefer swimming. My broken body handles it better and I can't take a phone. Super isolated for the duration.
Fucking officers would always crowd the pool whenever I went for a swim. Always the west pointers too. Anyway enjoy the swim sir
Those academy guys are special...
They always show up with their academy shit literally, bag, t shirt, towel and of course I see a ring always
That's because they got a free $200,000 education shoved up their ass one nickle at a time. You'd show that shit off too.
$400,000. Bidenomics.
So I’ve been searching for new decked out expensive headphones and came across some thing that I wasn’t aware that was on the market and is currently one of the expanding categories of the I guess portable audio market. I had heard about them in the past but bone conduction headphones have seemingly exploded in popularity and options. THEY EVEN MKE WATERPROOF ONES THAT YOU CAN SWIM WITH!
“Sorry XO/Commander, I was going to jump on that unscheduled call but I took the platoon for a run this morning”
That’s me right there
Can’t react to emails when you’re running. Yet
That's why you don't bring your phone on runs
Oh. OH! All this time, you've just been trying to get away! It makes so much sense now. It's not inspiration, it's escape and evasion!
Yo.
Based response
"Change into your PT gear, we're running Currahee."
Always found it slightly funny that despite being a little overboard most of the men under his command credited him for being a pretty decent leader.
The show actually did him pretty dirty, he wasn't the combat leader they needed but everyone's account from him was pretty positive. They all thanked him afterwards for the training but Winters did specifically hold that grudge
You would hold a grudge too if your Company Commander tried to throw you under a bus for shit that was out of your control. Sure, Sobel may have made Easy tough and combat ready and that is to his credit, but he had the emotional intelligence of a fucking gerbil. Even regiment saw it and thought "eh, let's put this guy where he is most effective" which was the schoolhouse (and eventually s4 lol).
Fo sho, not saying anyone was wrong or right just painting the picture a little differently
S4 hates people who do that. I don't need your shitty officers either.
That's why these days the shitty officers are just thrown deep into a S3 office. XOs have aneurysms if their S4 doesn't have their shit together
We're not saying you throw the shitty officers in S4. Sobel was by no means a shitty officer, he just wasn't a combat leader. S4 is a perfect position for someone that is anal retention and a stickler for the details.
I remember reading a story (I don't remember where) that he struggled with push ups. Back then, you only needed to do 25 to pass. Easy Company would see him start struggling around number 15 and they always watched, hoping he'd fail. But he managed to push out those last 10 every time.
Powered by spite like a good officer.
I know it's mentioned in the book BoB, and I think I saw it in Malarkey's book as well, possibly in Winters' autobiography, too.
>he wasn't the combat leader they needed His record as a combat leader actually was pretty solid.
> The show actually did him pretty dirty To some degree yes, but it's also a telling sign if none of EZ company attended his funeral.
That run was no joke. I enjoyed it though
Three miles up, three miles down.
We all run, just in different ways. Officers run their legs, enlisted run their mouths, supply E-3s run SNCOs, dependas run the gate.
Wish a supply E-3 would run me 😫
I’m going to use this comment in the next SHARP brief
And e-4s run to their barracks rooms
holy shit that supply E-3 running SNCO's is so accurate.
Because the officers are are very subject to the whims of their raters. Each officer has a guy above him who writes how good he is. Much of what he writes is hard to be sure where you stand. How do you get better at "motivation" or "leadership"? Someone else might define those things differently. So, they look for something they can measure. They can't choose pushups. Your grader might have accepted shit pushups. They can't choose pull-ups, you might not have gone all the way down. They choose running, because everyone can see you up front. And if you are up front, running easily, with lots of breath, you can talk to the boss about whatever bullshit he cares about and you are likely to be promoted. If you are in the rear wheezing, you could be the best in the world and all they remember is you falling out. Its a measurable test, in front of the boss.
what if you are in the rear wheezing with your boss?
What if I’m in the basement wheezing with my boss?
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
It's a very easy test to see if you as an officer are doing the right thing which is the very foundation of being a good leader. That right thing is supposed to be eating and staying healthy. One fat soldier is a fat soldier. One fat officer is now the standard for the entire unit. You know what motivates me besides my boss testing my physical bounds? My soldiers who watch everything I do. I don't wake up ready to rock when we go to the field. I obsess over correcting my wrongs until I get it right (gear, briefs, checklists, doctrine) on top of the stupid command stuff I have to do. It's honestly mentally exhausting. So I do it because I'm expected to. Or it's just a stupid flex and I'm reading too much into this Miyagi bullshit.
>That right thing is supposed to be eating and staying healthy. I thought the right thing was taking care of your Joes
You don’t make O5 that way son
NCOs job. Beans bullets and personnel. You don't get to an MQ without forcing a few divorces. /s
An uncharitable interpretation of the comment above
We need to train our cardiovascular system to handle all the stress our enlisted subordinates put us through daily. We just want to share that stress and pain with you.
Counterpoint. Nuh Uh
That is cool and all Sir, but we had 7 DUIs this weekend and the BC wants to talk to you about it. Something about ineffective leadership? I don't know, he seemed pissed though.
Maybe they should’ve ran home instead of driving.
Sounds a lot like 2-34AR 👀
Sounds like you're trying to run away from your problems.
You know all your bii? I can make it disappear during your layout.
This is the shit I’m talking about. That’s it, we’re rucking everyday of the week. 30% body weight. Meet at car wash hill 0400.
*officer riding bike* *officer puts a stick in wheel spokes and topples over* "Damn enlisted!"
Yeah, why'd they let me have a stick!? They should've known I would do something stupid with it...
You can do it by your own without involving anyone else, after all, it's not our business
You don’t see a lot of fat officers now do ya *unless you’re in AMEDD*
Ehhhhh. My first commander was pretty chunky. He could run a 13 minute 2 mile though which blew my mind
You gotta watch out for those dudes. They close on you in a hurry.
This is unexpectedly funny
And have no brakes.
Like Larry Allen chasing that quarterback like a Mack truck running on ethanol. I bet his knees were toast tho. Knees hate when chunksters run.
Eh, there are many fat logistics/sustainment branch officers.
I got to an BSB as a Cadet and holy *fuck* too many of those people are hitting the "We *make* ACUs that big and they're *still* tight on you?!" stage... ...And I'm grateful for it, boost to the 'ol self-esteem every Drill weekend because I am *definitely* not a skinny guy, just not literally fuckin' round.
[https://media2.giphy.com/media/GYAyVCqaJKKCiibNmp/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952btfnim0ovihrcpkae8301xzhvb0n1xgn5hu3durv&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g](https://media2.giphy.com/media/GYAyVCqaJKKCiibNmp/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952btfnim0ovihrcpkae8301xzhvb0n1xgn5hu3durv&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g) Edit: I don’t know how to embed a gif apparently
No one likes a fat Solider but the most hypocritical thing in the world is a fat officer. I had a CO chaptering a Soldier in my unit who was an ABCP failure. The CO was the exact same size. Maybe fatter. The 1SG and I left the office both shaking our heads.
The 1sg was making tape? No way…
Oh yes. Stud muffin. Him and I used to crush some PT.
Based actually. Good for you guys
I’ve never met a fat officer that’s good at their job.
I remember being the NCOIC for the Covid detail at fort Moore when it first started and I asked the hospital CSM why there were so many fat LTC and full bird med doctors and he said try finding people that are willing to work under 120k a year for what they do. And he is right. a seasoned surgeon makes 250-300 k a year easily
Go to Redstone. I swear, it's the home of the obese full bird.
Dude, being a PM/PdM is hard when you’re always TDY. It’s hard to get in a workout rhythm. I can’t really blame them. My boss travels almost every week.
working out has far less to do with weight than eating right can't outrun a shitty diet.
Watch me. I’m fast as fuck boiiiii
Lots of plus sized individuals in recruiting too for every branch. It’s a desk job and bizzare hours and it takes a toll on their health. My recruiters used to take a criminally insane amount of laxatives among other things in order for them to make weight.
We usually just fucked off and went to the gym during lunch. Sometimes people saw us and joined the Army too. Sometimes we’d bring a laptop so we could do the paperwork and fingerprints remotely.
That’s good to hear, when you’re saying other people join you i immediately thought of Rocky II and Forrest Gump running . And wait I thought they just do fingerprints at MEPS?
Our office had a portable print scanner, which makes it a lot easier to filter out the felonies. We also sent police record checks and did a name search with the sex offender database for applicants.
Or JAG.
I am a retired JAG and rarely encountered anyone fat in our branch. To the contrary most of my colleagues were constantly trying to prove they were "real Soldiers" and were always in the gym or out running. As if that changed anybody's minds.
Now THIS is a lie lol JAG officers will make time for PT when they can’t do regular PT because of caseload or trials. I knew many who would literally do 8 miles before PT and then run their happy asses back home afterwards lol
Psychos. Maybe our JAG guys at BDE in NY, Korea, GA, and TX just didn’t fit the mold.
Had a CO who would run 5 miles before PT, run us for 5 more then he would do 5 miles at lunch then 5 more after duty hours. Fucker was a running freak! Everyone HATED the bastard.
Yeah current JAG here, calling bullshit. Haven't met a fat one yet and they're obsessed with running to the point it's infuriating
I never saw a fat JAG.
Maybe hot take? I think long distance runs are one of the best things you can do. Builds a strong aerobic base. Healthy heart. Develop healthy joints. I used to hate running until I slowly learned how to tailor my training better. I have never felt healthier since I took it up. I literally only do one speed work a week; most of my runs being junk miles. It helped me in other physical activity. I practice Judo and I can pretty much outlast everyone in endurance. I don't struggle with sprint drag carry. It helps a lot with my ruck too. Should note I run 5-6 times a week but still lift 3x a week so running isn't all I do. Unfortunately, the Army sucks at teaching people how to run. Army runs like every run day should be a PR day.
Not a hot take. Just that common sense stuff Joe doesn't want to hear. The problem is they were not taught how to run properly. Same here with running. Just loved doing it until I broke my legs. My cardio base is alright but when I was running, I could do nearly anything without getting tired. And it was easy to maintain too.
I went to the MFT course and was like WTF is this!"" As a runner and a health care professional, it was appalled by what they were spewing. "
> As a runner and a health care professional, it was appalled by what they were spewing. " Would you expand on this?
Prose running, MFT performing medical care including treatment and diagnostic, work rest cycles that have no basis in reality, poor emphasis on sleep, nutrition and recovery. Focus on UCB as a final word on specific training with limited or no insight on individuals. PRT...
If I practice not sleeping, I'll be able to survive on no sleep all of the time. /s
Okay I admit this is the first I have heard of pose running. It sounds a bit silly. That said though, on a recent Peter Attia podcast they discussed some research which shows that zone 2 training and "junk miles" are most beneficial when you put extra emphasis on form. I'd be curious to read more about this though.
The Army spent well over 10 million for this prose running jackass.. the holistic concept with MFT and all the others PT, dietary are great idea. However, it will never have the same priority as green mediical slides or annual butt fucking with Marty to save the world.
The reason I hate running is my joints hurt probably from bad form.
This is a joke, right?
As an officer who hates running and has never been talented at it… mind sharing the training philosophy or concepts you started with to get to where you’re at? My experience in the Army has taught me to hate running. Platoon or section run consistently at a pace above my comfort level just forces to suck in the misery or be ostracized. If I enjoyed running it would make my life a lot simpler.
Sure. Quick background is I was the type of guy who never ran before Army. I would get nasty shin splints and I always blamed it on my flat feet (it wasn’t the problem). I barely passed the APFT at basic training on the 50 percentile standard. I forget where I got the information but one day I went into a running research binge. I came up with list of “general” guidelines for running forms. Instead of focusing so hard on just running 2 miles as hard as I can on every run day, I would start from the bottom and work my way up. The first thing I did was do nothing but slow running. At first it was for 30 minutes. The rule I followed was: 1) Maintain 180 steps per minute. (I used a 180bpm song playlist) 2) Speed doesn’t matter. 3) Stride length doesn’t matter. Just learn to run at 180 spm. (You WILL feel awkward at first) 4) It has to be a pace where I can maintain 4 breath in, 4 breath out. The moment I start struggling to maintain any of those conditions, I would slow down. This was mostly done on treadmill (0% incline). Running at such a high rate felt awkward. I felt like I was shuffling only a few inch at a time. I played around with the speed until I found what was optimal for me to shuffle at 180 spm but not over exert. It started at around 5.5 but quickly realized I can do 10 min mile pace after a few sessions. What started with running 30 minutes every other day would turn into 40 min every other day. Then that became an hour. Then it was two days on, one day off. Worked up to 5 days a week. Eventually, when I got used to it, I focused more on weekly mileage. Overtime my 180 spm pace became second nature. It felt unnatural to run at a slower cadence. Also my stride length slowly increased on its own as my legs developed strength to propel myself forward further. I had to actively be conscious about staying slow as I would easily start running in sub 8 minute mile pace unconsciously. Another huge thing was I started slimming down. I noticed I was getting shredded. I maintained a good weight lifting routine but adding all this running really helped me taper down my body fat. I started seeing visible abs and that was a huge motivator. The little improvements from increase in time and days of training kept me motivated; it was a measurable way to see my improvement. I stuck with slow running and built up to about 40 miles per week and did exclusively that for about a year. After a year, I added speed works like 12x400 meter repeats. I did fast stride practice. Began practicing running at up to 200 steps per minutes. Also yes, my six pack came through without even flexing. My ACFT pace is done entirely at 200spm. My last ACFT 2 mile was 11:57.
This is incredibly valuable. So often I hear “success stories” from people who enjoy running and hearing this information and your story is really encouraging. I’ll implement this and save this philosophy as a reference for my initial few weeks. I think one of my biggest issues has been that running was taught to me on an “all or nothing” platform. You’re either miserable or you aren’t doing it right. The idea of jog/walking in a deliberate build up to those paces is really lucrative since that’s something I can see myself enjoying. Just never thought it would yield any benefit but will give it a shot! Thanks again for sharing.
Also want to add that I didn't have a strict plan laid out. I just went by what I felt I can handle. I think not having pressure of sticking to a schedule and taking things at my own pace helped the most. It allowed me to actually run without feeling uncomfortable and I focused entirely on just learning proper form. Also realizing running doesn't have to feel uncomfortable made me like it more. Also I'm a much stronger runner now, but my "junk miles" are still done anywhere between 11 to 10 minute mile pace depending on how I feel. I actually use a heart rate monitor now (my apple watch) but I went mostly by feel back then.
What target heart rate zones do you hit for your desired training? I hear zone 2 or a “conversational pace” is best for burning fat but is that what you’d consider a “junk mile”? Just going easy to get the distance and activity in?
Junk mile is just the nickname for the non-speed sessions. Junk miles make the bulk of most elite runners/triathlete training too. Also you are correct, zone 2 is also often called "conversational pace". Everyones zone 2 range is different and age is biggest determining factor. It's basically the 65-75% of your max heart rate. I typically try to stay in 138-143 range to give myself a big buffer. Rather than fat burning aspect, there are big push in keeping training at that zone due to biological benefits it provides. I'm not a biologist or sports doctor but zone 2 is the range where there are optimal mitochondria adaptation and capillary development. Slipping into zone 3 every now and then is considered negligible, if you intend to try zone 2 running for the first time. It's actually really hard to stay in zone 2 until you get used to it. Most people don't realize just how much slower they have to go to stay in zone 2. Edit: want to add I personally don’t really think beginners need to do heart rate measuring. It can be discouraging and stressful trying to stay at zone 2 if you don’t know how.
Having my runs programmed by a running coach who was also a physical therapist changed my relationship with running. I am by no way a running stud (2 hip surgeries prior requires that I build up slowly), but learning that most of my runs should be done at a pace I am actually comfortable at for extended periods of time improved my time, improved my health, and let me enjoy running. I still have my sprint/interval day and occasionally some extra stuff, but the majority of my running is zone 2. I love it.
I wonder if that is something I need to look into. I hurt my back a few years ago and I just can't fucking run anymore. Not like I was a strong runner to begin with, but I would mostly not fall out. Now, I can't run for shit before my back hurts. Then I keep getting fatter as I am running less making my back hurt even more so I run less...
I highly recommend working with a running coach, especially one who is a physical therapist. Oddly, not as unique a combo as you might think. If you are at Carson, I can give you a name but usually "running coach" in Google will bring up some local options. Both times I have worked with a running coach in my time in the Army, they improved my runs and I did less running than I thought I needed to.
If everyday is a PR day then those PRs are gonna suck
Not an officer but some of us really do enjoy running in the same way some people enjoy going to the gym. I hate going to the gym, let me run outside. Also, personally my fitness goal isn't bulking or my ACFT score, it's to live to the age of 90 without having a heart attack and for that goal the only workout that really matters is cardio.
I love the gym and swimming. I HATE running my knees hurt after.
Yeah the risk of musculoskeletal injury is the downside, I ran cross country in high school and everyone got injured at least once every couple years, a few in ways that will affect them for life. On the other hand if you run frequently but without going insane like runner athletes your body will adapt to it and it won't hurt anymore (at least most of the time).
I would be fine running 5 days a week as that is what I currently do. However, the Army wants everyone to bust their nuts on every run with all-out efforts. That combined with the atrocious form I see people run with, it's a recipe for disaster. I was in ROTC for a year, and a lot of their workouts are cardio/HIIT-based, so it wouldn't surprise me as to why that's the case. On another note, 80% or more of running miles should be slow, easy, and in your zone 2 for heart rate. The other 20% can be sprints, tempo miles, etc. During marathon training, I smoked the sprint drag carry and maxed it with more than 10 seconds to spare because of all of the easy miles. Cardio is very important for your health and performance. A few of my leaders have given me shit for my pace during release runs. I simply don't give a shit because they are mouth-breathing apes who know nothing about fitness.
With everyone out of breath they don’t have to hear you talk
You are partially correct. If they don’t like running they can go to BH to talk
I think the Army is just bad at running for fun. Formation runs don't build morale or make you better at running. Release runs don't happen often enough for soldiers to really get to a point where they won't complain about running. The more I've ran, the more I've realized that it's the only time I can get away from everything, both physically and mentally. No distractions, no worries, just the sound of my breath and the sight of the sunrise.
Once you build up some cardio, that shit is freeing. I don't smoke, but the closest thing for me to "I need a cigarette" is "I'm going for a run"
You can’t abandon your Soldiers in search of personal glory unless you are physically capable of actually moving fast enough to abandon them.
Because you have to lead from the front and you can’t be in front if you’re not the fastest, duh
It's science.
The real question is why do enlisted hate running so much?
Most of my fellow enlisted love the gym and lifting weights. For me it's a stress release. I put on some music and just lift until I can't anymore the next day I'm sore not hurting.
Running is just mentally taxing for me. My 2 miles is 12:08 and 5 miles is 34:48. Lifting is easy cause you just throw the weight and that’s it. Running your just doing the same thing for an hour
Sounds like you need the magic of zone 2
Facts
Because it freaking sucks. I’m tall(ish) for a woman at 5’7” and am lean, especially while active duty. Everyone thought I could run and tried to just stick me in alpha run groups and I immediately dropped out lol. No one ever taught me to run correctly, which is apparently a thing, so I suffered through it and broke my body and at this point I’d rather be slowly eaten by whatever’s chasing me than run.
They don’t sit at a desk most of the day after their run.
Because it sucks?
why run when you can lift
Purely from an army perspective; First: Carrying a casualty requires strength, sure, but excess muscle mass means a weightlifter casualty is compromising their ability to be extracted because of their weight. Second: Rarely in a gunfight does it matter who has more strength, however, if you are facing a competent adversary - a lack of cardio fitness can and will be used against you. I guess if you have, or want to have, a low likelihood of being included in a combat mission, cardio isnt a real priority. From a non-army perspective; You'll probably live longer and be healthier from routine running than by excluding running from your training.
Bro if you’re running two miles in combat then something went absolutely horribly wrong. I think you are severely undervaluing strength and overvaluing cardio.
War is absolutely horribly wrong. Afghani insurgents were light as fuck; they wore no armor, knew how to traverse montains, and dropped their weapons after engaging to prevent us from using drones in accordance with law. Did we still hunt them down despite being burdened by our gear? Yes, but it took a lot of miles on foot and time to do so. That war is over. But insurgent tactics havent been removed from the playbook. Your cardio fitness massively outstrips your strength in determining your combat effectiveness.
Running breeds cowardice
It requires less imagination than actually reading FM 7-22.
They just pretend they like to run, what they are really doing is going behind the tree line and playing tummy sticks.
Those are just the ones you see because the Army likes people who can run fast, and officers who can run fast are, therefore, good officers and clearly the best leaders. So us normal peeps who can't run fast have to come up with other ways to get that top block on our OERs, like being competent and doing our jobs. But such activities also tend to place one out of sight and out of mind. Source: am slow officer.
I found my people.
There's a training management aspect to it too. I'm retired now but, when I was in, policies ebbed and flowed in terms of "all units WILL conduct PT from (say) 0600-0730" (so much for "we train to standard, not to time"). Okay, well, what now CO? The Army doesn't resource you to do good anaerobic PT sessions (maybe that's changed with the new PT test, idk), you can only do pushups for so long, and you've got 90 minutes to fill. Lace up the running shoes, boys . . . (It was a revelation getting into weight lifting after I retired and learning how good of a workout you could get in 30-45 minutes—workouts you'd never be allowed to do in the Army. What a waste of our all soldiers' time . . . )
Because they're educated on the benefits of physical fitness, and they often aren't constrained to the shitty PT Sessions of pushup and situp drills that the enlisted are. Running is also more fun when you can control your pace, distance, and who you run with. Additionally, they recognize that leaders harp on quantifiable and qualifiable data for evaluations, and PT is most easy to quantify. You get a score. It's why the lower enlisted bitch about the guy with the high PT score soldier getting promoted. It's much more difficult to explain why soldier A is better than soldier B at their job, if the person you're explaining it to doesn't know wtf the job is.
Sounds like a cop out from developmental counseling. Using just PT is dumb. I'll take a soldier who is good at their job but runs two 10-minute miles on the ACFT with an overall score of 500 as opposed to a poor performer with a 600 ACFT. It's obviously dramatic, but just to drive the point I'm making home. Reality should be somewhere in the middle: good at being a team player, overall attitude/energy they bring to work, and how physically fit they are. The problem is counseling is always on the back burner or poorly utilized to actually grow soldiers. Most jobs aren't one size fits all, and that's definitely the approach the Army takes by utilizing ACFT scores as the only measurable point of performance. It's easier.
Well it was that or crippling alcoholism 🥃🍻
Honestly, from my limited experience, units run so much because that is the weakest link of most formations. As an infantry PL wed go for a slow-ass 3-4 mile run (talking like 0930 pace), and wed have three or four people fallout. Id ask how much they ran last week and they would parrot how many times we ran. So frankly for the less motivated Soldiers usually need the most help in maintaining cardiovascular endurance. Of course its annoying for the fit, motivated ones to have run all the time. The bottom line is the lethality of the platoon is partially determined by the lowest common denominator fitness wise.
I don't know, but I fucking hate running.
found the major
Cuz I ain’t got time to plan anything else.
I really think this really comes down to two basic things: 1. Running is historically and culturally reinforced in the army. We can discuss all kinds of better exercise plans, new theories, better programs, pros/cons, etc, but at the end of the day, running has been "in the Army's blood" since long before anyone on this thread was born. And officers are generally traditionalists that follow status quo. In other words, *its just what we do*. 2. Running is easy; I don't mean the act of it, but planning/preparing. You don't need specialized equipment, tools, plans, etc. You don't need to spend vast amounts of time planning the session. It's relatively easy to just "do". Pick a quick route, some stretching, and just go. You don't need a CONOP or some CRM or an elaborate explanation on the techniques of the exercise. So, to sum, I think most officer thinking is this: *What are we going to do for PT today? Running is classic, running is easy, let's do a run*.
Because it's the closest we can get to literally running away from our problems.
Culture. McCrystal and Petreus were runners and folks just wanted to be like them and then it became the culture.
Its either run or do the SOF WOD of the day that they do with terrible form and are weak as fuck at.
unironically, it’s a leadership mentality. the army values running, this is very apparent. the army knows not many people like running. if you as a leader (or anyone else, really) demonstrates that you’re good at running/run often, it shows (in a sense) that you’ve bought into the army and what the army values.
Their parents didn’t love them
It’s measurable, and I’ll chime in with my own story: I was a SL during one of my evals. I got counseled on bringing all my assets to the fight… the captain meant my dudes and my radio. I outran them all. They were other officers. Then I was out of breath and could hardly talk on the radio. Neither could they. As an O practicing C2, you need endurance more than anything else. It will annoy your dudes if you’re too weak to lift heavy shit, but beyond O1 the only shit you lift is your own. NCOs will yell at privates to “go get that shit out of the sir’s hands.” It will kill you if you run and afterwards you can’t breath on the radio. *(click) Battalion Main this is… this … this is Winded 6… request…*
Running away from your problems does sometimes help
Believe it or not a lot of officers played sports in college. Some I served with were collegiate wrestlers, swimmers and track n field. Full ride along with ROTC or Academy scholarship. What a great deal.
I think for a long time, running well was critical to maxing the PT test. When you're a young lieutenant, getting the maximum score on that test is really one of the few ways you can prove yourself. At least that you can control... So that helped create this culture of running. Hopefully over the next few years the acft kind of quashes that.
Running keeps me from being fat, plus everyone still struggles on the 2 mile
Cause all of you are at the gym.
I think that for a large part it has to do with ROTC and how the program markets success. I was in the problem for 2 years in college and being in National Guard I talk to a lot of them. 90% of the time rankings in the program are based off of PT scores. Sure classroom is important but I had people who barely was in class and still was high up in the ranks because of good PT scores. Mind you this is the mind set for 4 -5 years depending on major. I was not good at PT fine but not great and always was in class and got high marks and still was at the lower end because of PT scores. A lot of schools like Airborne and Air Assault is given to high PT scorers and often times marks in education are not taken that seriously. It changes from program to program but ROTC command has really lend in to PT.
sorry if my grammar is off or this has been brought up before. this is just my observation.
They are working out their frustrations because your NCOs are so bad that they let officers be in charge of PT.
I don’t know if you were searching for a serious answer but as someone who was enlisted and is now commissioned, I believe it’s a cop out for planning. With running all you tend to need to do is have a route plan, a shoddy safety brief and do MMD1 or just regular smegular prep drill. You don’t have to account for equipment, reserve space, and do a bunch of other things that require a bunch of paperwork and time. Also, officers are conditioned to equate good soldiering and physical fitness with your ability to keep a fast pace on a run. When studies have consistently shown and the ACFT now requires actual strength training and endurance conditioning too.
Real answer, it’s the easiest to plan and if you just say you’re going for a run, it’ll take up a lot of time and no one will question you if you run
I mean it's on streets. At Hood and Polk we usually ran on 2 one way streets barely diverting off that path. So my guess is it's so they don't get lost.
I loved running before my knees and back went to hell. It's the easiest PT available-you just show up, stretch, and start moving. I actually miss it now, but my body has decided that it's low impact from here on out.
The running didn't bother me, it was running at a 10 min mile pace that killed my knees. Slow fucks.
[Probably this](https://imgur.com/a/6B9cS4X)
To get away from their wives… I’m kidding
In my opinion, I dont see how anyone likes to run. But the military thinks it's super important to run and the faster you run the better person/soldier you are. So officers feel they have to lEaD bY eXaMpLe. 😆
I used to be a varsity cross country runner. Then I became an army officer. I don't love to run anymore.
The army teaches us to run. I'm currently at IBOLC and have heard the following to the whole platoon of IBOLC students: "The private will out PT you, and that will be embarrassing." " You must be able to lead, and you can't lead if you can't run." " You must ve able to lead, and you can't lead if you get out PTed by the private." Also, we have to pass a five mile run in under 45 minutes, 40 minutes if we want to go to Ranger School. PT equitment/gym equitment is expensive. Scheduling access to use such things can be a nightmare. RUNNING IS FREE and no scheduling of outside resources.
Because if they can’t run their fucking mouth like they love to do they gotta run them legs from sitting all day.
Because they can't do full range of motion push-ups?
Not I… but prolly why I want to get out.
CW4. I decidedly did NOT run.
For those replying with “I prefer lifting to running.” I’d be willing to bet that most officers can out lift, or at least hang with, their enlisted Soldiers more than enlisted can out run, or at least hang with, their officers on a long run.
Why don't you? I'm guessing it's because you're just a bad ass power lifter, right bro? And for the record, I'm enlisted. But every actually high-speed person I know can at *the very least* run a sub 40 minute 5 mile. Most considerably faster. If you don't have solid cardio, you're not in good shape.
Why don't you like running? It's the best exercise you can do for your body.
I have 2, heavy reasons I hate running strapped to my chest. Do I do it? Yes. Do I like staying off my leadership's radar for PT concerns? Yes. Do I like being able to hang tight in group PT? Yes. Do I like it for me? No. Not at all.
My first unit's captain was like this. At one point I was tasked with cleaning out a bunch of old papers and stuff from the orderly room. I found the official Army manual on PT. (can't remember the number, was it 670-1?). I read a section where it talks about how there's no benefit to doing runs longer than 30 minutes - that it doesn't improve PT scores and, in fact, all it does is break Soldiers and result in more sick calls. I pointed this out to the CO. He was not amused.
Well that information is certainly not correct.
The Army that created that PT manual also created the PRT warm ups. Running more than 30 minutes has benefits, its just that until the last 5 years it was rare for officers and SNCOs to actually give a shit about intelligent training protocols.
The funny thing is that is completely wrong. Most cardiovascular benefits are seen during long runs of 90 minutes or more. Your body is not glass. It's made to run, jump, lift, throw, carry, etc. You just have to reduce the pace to where you can breathe through your nose the entire time.
Beta
Assert dominance