THE EFFECT OF COMMAND EMPHASIS AND MONTHLY PHYSICAL-TRAINING ON ARMY PHYSICAL-FITNESS SCORES IN A NATIONAL GUARD UNIT

Individual fitness, an important component of combat readiness, has be en found to be deficient in some Reserve Component units of the United States Army. We evaluated a program of monthly physical training in a n environment of increasing emphasis on unit physical fitness's in an effort to determine the effect on unit performance on the semi-annual Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). This program was examined in a retr ospective manner to establish its effectiveness over a 6-month period. No statistically significant improvement in APFT scores could be foun d over the course of the study, suggesting that such a program is not an efficient means of improving unit fitness in the Reserve Components of the United States Army.