HAWC rolls out new fitness program Published Aug. 19, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Christopher A. Marasky 18th Wing Public Affairs KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- Beginning Aug. 24, Kadena's Health and Wellness Center will begin a new initiative to improve the installation's Fitness Improvement Program. Members who are currently on, or are placed on the FIP program in the future, will be enrolled in a program at the HAWC to help them meet their fitness goals. "We will be offering five classes a day, five days a week," said Janneane Moody, one of two exercise physiologists in charge of fitness testing. "This way, Airmen can fit the classes into their schedule. With us taking this over as well, it will help us be able to guarantee that Airmen are getting the help they need to meet their fitness goals." Airmen on the FIP program aren't the only ones who will be getting more assistance from the HAWC in the coming months. Come September, the HAWC will also be helping members who are on medical profiles. "Beginning in September, when Airmen come to check in with us for their profile, we'll create for them a PT program that's specific to the physical limitations of their injuries," said Ms. Moody. "This will be different for every Airman, as some can actually partake in their squadron PT sessions, and some may need a more specialized PT plan that will allow them to continue their PT while they are on a profile." The changes to the installation FIP program are driven by a requirement made by Gen. Carrol Chandler, Pacific Air Forces commander. "General Chandler came out with a letter in December of last year that mandated we roll out new programs by March of this year," said Ms. Moody. "So March 2, we rolled out our program and began having Airmen here at Kadena tested by our staff. Improving our FIP program is the second part of that mandate." As part of the March 2 change, and in order to ensure standardization of testing, all physical fitness testing is now conducted by members of the HAWC. "Here on Kadena, we have a large number of active Physical Training Leaders at any one time, and when they were conducting the testing there was a lot of variation," Ms. Moody said. "When you have that many people doing anything, there will be a variance. So we've reduced the number down to five Fitness Testing Specialists in order to standardize the testing." Due to the large number of Airmen who required testing, the initial few fitness tests conducted by the HAWC required the assistance of squadron PTLs. Though they're no longer doing the testing, Ms. Moody said the squadron PTLs still have an important mission to fulfill. "Even though we've taken the PFT away from the PTLs here in PACAF, it's important that they receive the training and understand the process," she said. "They need the training in order to safely lead squadron physical fitness sessions, and they need to understand the process in the event we have to call upon them to augment us in the future." When the changes went into effect in March, Kadena saw a rise in the failure rates reported. While only one third of the Airmen at Kadena have been tested, the rate of failure for the installation is currently around 13 percent. "That's much higher than the Air Force's reported rate of failure of 2 percent, but it's only been a few months and it's hard to get real statistics at this point," said Ms. Moody. "We've only tested about a third of the base, so we can't say how the rest of the base will affect the overall statistics. It'll be hard to find any real stats until about the 12-month mark, and after we've tested the whole base." While the failure rates and the changes may seem drastic, the new changes have been well received by Airmen here at Kadena, who've rated the new testing program with a 3.9 on a 4.0 scale according to the HAWC. "I think the new system is going to help a lot of people increase their physical fitness level," said Airman 1st Class Gregory Jeffers, an 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief who tested with the new HAWC testers. "I think hiring the civilian fitness testers is a lot better than having the PTLs because there are no biased decisions and it's fair and equal for everyone."