Posted on Oct 6, 2016
At least 59 airmen wrongly failed fitness test due to mismeasured tracks
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Since 2008, 59 airmen at two bases may have unfairly failed their fitness assessments because the tracks they ran on were longer than they should have been, the Air Force announced Thursday.
As a result of the discoveries, Air Force leaders have ordered all bases to recertify their 1.5-mile running courses and 2-kilometer walking courses by Oct. 31 to make sure there are no other tracks with the same problem.
Air Force spokeswoman Brooke Brzozowske said the service is not halting use of those other tracks for fitness assessments while the recertification is taking place, since it has no indication now that they are mismeasured.
The Air Force said that officials at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas inspected its outdoor running course earlier this year and found it was 85 feet longer than required. The indoor running track at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts was even further off — 360 feet longer than required. The Hanscom track's mismeasurement was discovered after an airman filed an appeal.
The Goodfellow track was last accurately measured in 2010. At some point, its lanes were adjusted, Brzozowske said, and were either not remeasured afterward or were remeasured inaccurately. This caused 18 airmen to fail the fitness test who would otherwise have passed, the Air Force said.
The Hanscom track had construction done after its last accurate measure in 2008 and was similarly not remeasured or remeasured inaccurately, Brzozowske said. As a result, 41 airmen there failed their fitness tests.
However, it may be difficult to tell whether the Air Force's estimates include every airman negatively affected by the incorrectly measured tracks.
"Wow, can't imagine some of the people who got screwed and I know the true numbers will be higher," former airman Steven Mayne said on his popular Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page.
Mayne said that when he was a squadron superintendent, he often saw airmen mentally give up and begin to walk when they realized that they weren't going to pass their running test.
"This would not be accounted for by [simply] looking at those who failed by X seconds," Mayne said. "Especially considering one so far was 360 feet longer, I can easily see some [airmen] gassing out at the end, when they may have already been finished."
The Air Force said all affected airmen are being notified and will be provided avenues for remedy.
Brzozowske said that for airmen who are still on active duty, this means their fitness scores will be adjusted and any personnel actions that were taken as a result of those fitness scores will be remedied. She said airmen who were affected should work with their chain of command, force support squadron, legal office and the Air Force Personnel Center to correct their records.
Airmen who have since left should contact the Discharge Review Board or the Board for Correction of Military Records, she said.
As a result of the discoveries, Air Force leaders have ordered all bases to recertify their 1.5-mile running courses and 2-kilometer walking courses by Oct. 31 to make sure there are no other tracks with the same problem.
Air Force spokeswoman Brooke Brzozowske said the service is not halting use of those other tracks for fitness assessments while the recertification is taking place, since it has no indication now that they are mismeasured.
The Air Force said that officials at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas inspected its outdoor running course earlier this year and found it was 85 feet longer than required. The indoor running track at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts was even further off — 360 feet longer than required. The Hanscom track's mismeasurement was discovered after an airman filed an appeal.
The Goodfellow track was last accurately measured in 2010. At some point, its lanes were adjusted, Brzozowske said, and were either not remeasured afterward or were remeasured inaccurately. This caused 18 airmen to fail the fitness test who would otherwise have passed, the Air Force said.
The Hanscom track had construction done after its last accurate measure in 2008 and was similarly not remeasured or remeasured inaccurately, Brzozowske said. As a result, 41 airmen there failed their fitness tests.
However, it may be difficult to tell whether the Air Force's estimates include every airman negatively affected by the incorrectly measured tracks.
"Wow, can't imagine some of the people who got screwed and I know the true numbers will be higher," former airman Steven Mayne said on his popular Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page.
Mayne said that when he was a squadron superintendent, he often saw airmen mentally give up and begin to walk when they realized that they weren't going to pass their running test.
"This would not be accounted for by [simply] looking at those who failed by X seconds," Mayne said. "Especially considering one so far was 360 feet longer, I can easily see some [airmen] gassing out at the end, when they may have already been finished."
The Air Force said all affected airmen are being notified and will be provided avenues for remedy.
Brzozowske said that for airmen who are still on active duty, this means their fitness scores will be adjusted and any personnel actions that were taken as a result of those fitness scores will be remedied. She said airmen who were affected should work with their chain of command, force support squadron, legal office and the Air Force Personnel Center to correct their records.
Airmen who have since left should contact the Discharge Review Board or the Board for Correction of Military Records, she said.
At least 59 airmen wrongly failed fitness test due to mismeasured tracks
Posted from airforcetimes.comPosted in these groups: 
Airmen
Physical Training
Airmen Physical Training
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 5
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That is really weird SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL that in this day and age running tracks would not be measured exactly.
Catch 22 would be thrilled to learn that "Air Force leaders have ordered all bases to recertify their 1.5-mile running courses" because "59 airmen at two bases may have unfairly failed their fitness assessments because the tracks they ran on were longer than they should have been."
I suppose the tracks could have been lengthened by tectonic plate realignment :-)
Catch 22 would be thrilled to learn that "Air Force leaders have ordered all bases to recertify their 1.5-mile running courses" because "59 airmen at two bases may have unfairly failed their fitness assessments because the tracks they ran on were longer than they should have been."
I suppose the tracks could have been lengthened by tectonic plate realignment :-)
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Capt Tom Brown
Hard to believe they would drop the ball on something so important as this. People are happily failed for missing the mark by 1 second or less. The track should be totally accurate. The other egregious thing was why did the airmen have to formally file an appeal with someone to rectify this error. Local COC should have jumped on this with both feet. Unacceptable at any level.
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
"Assumption" issue. Why wouldn't the 1/4 (440 yard) mile track be 1/4 mile? It looks like the 440 ended up being 420-435 yards long.... (too close to the football field)
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are the men and women that were disqualed given a chnce to try again? This is pretty scary coming from the Air Force. Can you imagine the result say 1000 miles down range when you launch at an incorrect distance measurement? Scary. Please dont fly over my house, I do not live in a bombing range. Please be real careful. Get rid of all the electronics and get the good ole sextant out of the box and make you know where the hell you are. By the way, do AF navigators and pilots know how to navigate with a sextant?
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