Posted on Apr 9, 2014
APFU Pants: Why do I have to take them off when it's between 35-50° F?
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This has always been a pet peeve of mine. We form up in full Winter APFUs because it's friggin cold outside, and the 1SG tells us to take our pants off. WHY? It's COLD!
Am I the only person in the military who gets cold when my legs are exposed to cold air and wind? We usually just stand there waiting for who knows what to start the formation usually after it was supposed to begin. I once had to take an APFT at Ft. Huachuca while it was 30° with a really cold wind. We had to take off our pants for that one. Too cold. Way too cold. Am I just bitching? Is this because I am a Floridian?
All I really want to know is why do senior NCOs make this call? Can't we take the pants off when we actually start PT?
Am I the only person in the military who gets cold when my legs are exposed to cold air and wind? We usually just stand there waiting for who knows what to start the formation usually after it was supposed to begin. I once had to take an APFT at Ft. Huachuca while it was 30° with a really cold wind. We had to take off our pants for that one. Too cold. Way too cold. Am I just bitching? Is this because I am a Floridian?
All I really want to know is why do senior NCOs make this call? Can't we take the pants off when we actually start PT?
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 117
I know you guys are going to laugh at the Air Force guy making comments about PT, but I worked with Joint SOF for many years so I have some credibility here. When I first started training with Operators in a Joint environment I said, "It's pouring rain! We're not seriously going to run in that, are we!?" Then I said, "It's 10 degrees out there and there's two feet of snow! We can't possibly do a 5K and 100 pushups!" Needless to say I got up close and personal with things like cold, heat, rain, snow, mud, and dirt on a level that I never conceived of in my younger days. Words like NOT, CAN'T, WON'T, and IMPOSSIBLE started to fade away and somehow I found myself looking forward to the rain and hoping for a freezing morning because it felt AWESOME. Mind you, it felt even more awesome when it was over, but that's like double-awesome. For me, military service was about doing things I never thought I was capable of, and little things like being cold are the baby steps that get you there. We are the greatest military on Earth for a reason. You guys are awesome, KEEP BEING AWESOME!
Also, Google Wim Hof...
Also, Google Wim Hof...
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APFUs. What the .... We wore our fatigues and combat boots and ran in the cold.... Germany cold cold. Then in Korea get real. Get tough. No complaining set the example. Go Army
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As a MFT this shocks me. This can do damage to your muscles if your exposed to to much cold for long periods of time. And don't forget that each person is different. Some can handle it for longer time periods then other's. If you and or I don't care for it then we shouldn't have to be in shorts. Now for testing purposes, the APFT shirt is required because we need to see that your chest is nearing the mat and your elbows are bending. Also I lik to see that your doing a correct sit-up. Some folks even get over heated when wearing the full sweatsuit. Some "higher NCO's" want uniformity in formation so they want everyone to either wear pants or no pants/jackets. Wrong answer. I allowed what ever you wanted cause I didn't want any injuries!
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SFC Scott Parkhurst
Ah man, now you ruined my image...LoL! Yes, it's so hard to "tell" some that people are different then them and not everyone can handle extreme cold and or heat. I went through both training and I would be a total idiot to put myself in harms way to prove a point....Rules can and should be bent.
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I always thought the same thing until I had the option and ran in full PT's. Regretted it immediately. Pants are like sails hot and heavy. The real question is why can't you put your hood up on your gortex when it's raining
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As a 1SG the only time I make them off in formation is if one Soldier isn't wearing them to keep what we use to call uniformity I make everyone take them off.
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SGT Michael Root
Conveniently also providing a lot of peer pressure to help the one soldier remember the next time. lol
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Just another element that helped affect readiness. Being acclimated to such stressors only advances ones ability to tuff it out on down the road. Instead of having to pack on the clothes which would cause you to over heat if your really giving it all you got. Only goes to help ease the stress if your already acclimated to it.
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Suspended Profile
Wait...a CW2 is in formation....doing pt?????
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