Fit to Fight: HAWC plays vital role in fitness program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez
  • 35th Fighter Wing public affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  The Air Force has adopted a "fit to fight" motto, placing more emphasis on an Airman's physical fitness and overall health. The Health and Wellness Center (HAWC) is a key player in ensuring everyone is fit to fight and fit for life.

One of the roles of the HAWC is to educate and to provide appropriate resources to help people pass their fitness assessments. Two of the HAWC's programs are designed specifically for people who have failed their fitness assessments. The Healthy Living Program (HLP) is a four to six hour class, which covers behavioral changes, nutrition and exercise. The Body Composition Improvement Program (BCIP) is a required program for males and females who have a waist circumference equal to or greater than 40 inches, and 35 inches respectively. The BCIP program helps educate the member on how to eat sensibly to decrease their waist line and improve their health. Both the BCIP and HLP require monthly follow-up checks until the service member passes his/her fitness assessment.

Another program is the Sensible Weigh Class, designed to help people lose weight with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25. If someone has a BMI greater then 25 then it puts the individual at increased risk for developing additional health problems. The HAWC staff is available to assist people with nutritional and exercise advice. They also host special informational classes such as the Holiday Budgeting Class, a class geared to inform people on ways to avoid gaining weight during the holiday season.

The HAWC staff has teamed with the Fitness Center staff to help show people different ways to exercise and improve overall fitness. Misawa's HAWC staff and Fitness Center personnel have exceeded the Air Force's requirements with this approach, according to Capt. Jennifer Bradley, HAWC Flight Commander.

Captain Bradley, a registered dietitian, arrived at the HAWC about a month ago. With her arrival, she is making some major changes. One such change involves fitness metrics. The fitness metrics will be sent to commanders monthly and include information such as how many people are passing, exempt and not current within their squadron.

"I want to let the squadron commanders know how their sections are doing, since it is a squadron commander's program," Captain Bradley said.

Captain Bradley has also compared Misawa's fitness metrics to the rest of the PACAF bases.

"We're doing well compared to PACAF," she said. "There is always room for improvement. We need to work on our exemptions and not-current rate. This is a hot item for the CSAF"

In addition to the monthly metric reports, Captain Bradley will begin conducting staff assistant visits (SAVs) with each unit in December. The purpose of a SAV is to ensure units have all the required paperwork for the fitness program in order to answer any questions the units may have.

Commanders play an important role in the fitness program. According to Captain Bradley, squadron commanders must ensure that they have a written policy for their unit-based fitness program and take appropriate administrative action when an individual fails to meet the requirements. Commanders may also reward those individuals who pass their physical fitness assessment.

When an Airman fails for the first time, administrative action is not necessarily taken. AFI 10-248 outlines the administrative actions that may be taken with each failure of a fitness assessment.

"The biggest problem with the fitness program is people failing multiple times and nothing happening to the member," said Captain Bradley. "My role is to provide members with resources and education to help them pass. I also help the squadron commanders with resources too."

Ensuring everyone is fit for duty is one of the Wing Commander's top priorities.

"Now more than ever, with our high operations tempo and increased deployments, we need to ensure that our Airmen are healthy and physically capable of completing the mission," said Col. T.J. O'Shaughnessy, 35th Fighter Wing Commander. "Not only do we want our Airmen to be fit for duty, but we hope it becomes a lifestyle choice for them - we hope they choose to be fit for life."

Whether or not an Airman meets fitness standards was recently added to enlisted and officer performance reports. However, the Air Force has created additional changes to the Air Force fitness program that Airmen might not be aware of. As of August 2007, the marginal category of the fitness assessment has been eliminated, and a three-mile walk has been added for individuals who are unable to accomplish the 1.5-mile timed run or the cycle ergometry test.

The profile name has changed as well, with profiles now being called the Duty Limiting Conditions (DLC). When a physician issues a DLC, or fitness restriction, those recommendations are e-mailed to the individual's squadron commander, unit deployment manager and the Fitness Program Manager (FPM).

"There was no good way of tracking people on profile before," explained Captain Bradley. "Now commanders have a better view what is happening within their squadron and who currently has a DLC, or fitness restriction."

Currently, the FPM position at the HAWC is vacant, but it is expected to be filled in January. In the meantime, the HAWC is working with the physical therapist to fill the role.

"There are a lot of discussions about the fitness program," said Captain Bradley. "I like to have a positive outlook on it. Where else will you find your employer allowing you PT time during your work day? You can also take classes on health and fitness and get paid for it. You can spend your time being healthy or spend your time in the hospital. If you ask me, I would rather spend my time exercising and eating healthy."

For more information on the HAWC and its programs, please call Captain Bradley at 226-6550.