Should Height/Weight be Disregarded if the PT Score is High Enough?

During my last 7 years i was lucky enough to be in positions to do PT program, and began maxing every test, i always got taped but always passed. I PCSd to Germany with 18years in, was given a PT test apon arival because everyone forged thier records, or so i was told. Maxed the PT test but failed the tape. The CO had me read in on the fat boy program the next day and told me he would seperate me if i didn't shape up. I was so mad i was shaking, the thought that this leader thought he was in controll of my career. More than 15y later and id still like to choke him.

The Navy used to have this option but there were a lot of requirements that you must meet. Example, you could only be a certain % over, must score an excellent or higher, and it was ultimately CO's discretion. However, now per the new policy if you fail the BCA (body composition assessment) which is required within a certain time frame before the PRT (physical readiness test) portion, then you will automatically fail the PRT portion and will not be allowed to even conduct the test. Resulting in an overall failure of the PFA (physical fitness assessment) for that cycle.

I think that if you fail PFT then and only then should weight and body fat be taken into account. A person should have body fat checked only if they are a certain percentage over the standard. That is because that could be an indicator of why you failed. Now notice I didn't say anything about height and that is because it shouldn't matter how tall you are unless your MOS has a max height (i. e. pilots). It shouldn't matter how big your neck is or how big your waist is. I don't know what should be done to make it better but using a tape measure to determine body fat has to go because it is inaccurate by up to 10% maybe even more. I know this from personal experience. I was overwieght one time according to the standard by 2.5%. I was always in that range but I passed my PFT. My battalion commander and I had a discussion about this and he didn't think it was right either. I asked if there was a way to prove that using the tape measure for body fat was inaccurate. He did some checking and got it approved for me to take the dunk test to measure my body fat. The results of the test were as the commander and I thought. I was under what the tape measure said by almost 10%. I was able to move on in my career and retired after 23 years. I whole-heartedly agree that the way all of the standards are determined needs to change but I will leave that to people that are a whole lot smarter than me because I personally would have NO idea where to start.

This morning I took a PT test with three soldiers from my unit and pretty thoroughly destroyed them. The highest push-up raw score from them was where I stopped for my first pause, and in one minute I did more situps than most of them did in two. One of them did manage to pass me on the run, but I did a 12 mile ruckmarch on Friday and still have two open sores on my feet. In the end I scored a 292, but I was the only one getting taped at the end of the PT test. The height and weight standards were set nearly 40 years ago based on averages from Vietnam, before we expected soldiers to carry body armor and the load of gear that we use today. I'd suggest raising the minimum standard from 180 to 210 or 240 and only measuring height and weight as a diagnostic tool when someone fails.

General Schwarzkopf observed that the goal of the Army height-weight program was to ensure fit soldiers, not soldiers that look good in uniform. This is certainly true if a soldier is fit enough to score well on his PT test. Looks don't matter, being able to perform your duty does.

I hate watching someone new that is skinny tape a Soldier, I.e me. I am the fat girl that is always taped. Once in my career I wasn't taped and I still think the scale was broken. It never fails I walk in the room to be taped and this slim Soldier that never had an issue with weight is holding the tape and I watch him put his finger in between the soldier and the tape. Thats usually when I ask where is the regulation and why do you not have it out following the examples. I need every quarter or half inch I can get. After two ACL replacements in two years on the same knee I kicked ass on my diagnostic test last week with a 225. Yes we need to train our Soldiers better so they are more consistant with the tape but if we can perform with no problem and don't look like slobs in our uniforms leave us alone.

The enemy doesn't care what your height or weight is . If you're combat capable you're combat ready

You might be a PT stud, and that's great, but this Army is not an Army of the individual—it's a team. If you get shot, and you weigh 300 lbs plus gear, who's going to carry you to safety? Granted, I think we might be due for a revamp of the system, or maybe we could just come up with an all around maximum weight (because under the current system, if I'm 6' 8" I can weigh a lot more than someone who's 5', but that won't help someone who has to carry me out if I'm injured). We need to address /why/ we have the height and weight, and maybe we can dial that in a little better than we're doing now. We could hit professional appearance and ability to be evacuated from combat as considerations in other ways.

I found that my weight was never at target but with measurements I was always the right size I also did well on my afpt scores I agree if you have good scores the hight and weight should be waved

Ht/Wt and tape testing is the last allowable form of discrimination. If gay people can openly serve and women can go to Ranger School, how can anyone possibly say overweight people can't serve?!