The US Army is in the process of changing their fitness standards, and for the better in my opinion. Instead of just the traditional push-ups, sit-ups, and two-mile run, they have now added a deadlift (using a hex bar instead of a barbell) event and other real strength measures. Standards no longer differ by gender, either.

A real positive change! The unit I was in pretty much ignored the Army standards, anyway, as they were much easier than what was expected of us there. We would’ve loved this stuff. It’s far more realistic regarding actual combat and general army tasks and matches much more closely the physical training we actually did.

The only thing I disagree with is that different unit types and jobs might have different standards. While this sounds ok on the surface, it causes division within the ranks. For instance, even though I was a photojournalist in a combat unit I still met all the same standards as everyone else in my unit, even those soldiers specifically designated with combat roles.* This left no doubt that I could fight beside them as needed and wouldn’t be a hindrance. Take that away, and why would you want someone not as capable as you fighting with you? That’d just be another thing to worry about.

*Though in a paratrooper unit, you’re really all front-line troops. Couldn’t really be any other way.