Commentary: adapt to fitness to survive, thrive

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Matthew C. Conrad
  • 970th Airborne Air Control Squadron commander
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Do you ever feel like a dinosaur? Do you feel like you have been around for a while and have witnessed a dramatic shift in the environment? Do you ever wonder what has happened to this Air Force or Air Force Reserve that we all joined a few years ago? I sure do.

Is it the mission? The answer is no. We have been doing this mission for quite some time and nobody does it better than the men and women in the Air Force Reserve.
Is it the people? Again, I would have to answer an emphatic no. The people in the Reserve are the brightest and most dedicated individuals that our nation has to offer. 

If it is not the mission and it is not the people, then why does it seem that change is underfoot? I think, ladies and gentlemen, that we have swerved into it. Change is indeed underfoot; our environment will continue to change and we must adapt to it. While the concept of one weekend every month and 15 days a year is still around, the practice, as you all know, is something much bigger than that. 

AEF is now firmly established in our culture. Every 20 months we will step up to the plate and fulfill the needs of "Big Blue." This is a dramatic culture shift from the Air Force Reserve I joined, yet we have embraced it and we continue to survive and thrive. What is the next threat? From my perspective, I think it is the Air Force Fitness Test. 

Few could argue the benefits of having a more fit--dare I say fit to fight--Air Force. It goes without saying that in a strenuous situation the more fit you are the better you will be able to perform. 
 
Then where does all the reluctance to embrace this new culture come from? Probably from those of us, me included, who demonstrate an inordinate amount of dinosaur-like tendencies (and whose 32-inch waist "501 Blues" are now in the '80s exhibit in the Smithsonian.) 

Believe me: I am familiar with the failure rates. I understand how hard it is to get and keep a 44-year-old body in shape. I know the angst among commanders who worry about their ability to accomplish the mission with soaring failure rates. I feel for the individual who must now exercise and diet like they have never in their life. However, the goal is a healthier fighting force and the fringe benefit is a healthier you, and who doesn't want that? 
 
I know the three secrets to passing the fitness test. I will now enlighten you. Here they are, in no particular order--train, train, train. You have simply got to do it. As a commander I can provide you the time and give you the support, but as a reservist I cannot make you train on your own time -- that is all up to you. I can almost guarantee you won't pass without training. 

I have a commander friend who urged his troops to become eagles and not ducks. In that same vein, I would like to encourage all reservists to discard our destructive dinosaur behavior and adopt the attitude of another clearly prehistoric species: the alligator.

Have you seen one up close? They are ugly, mean, nasty and, most importantly, good at what they do.

They have not evolved one iota from Day One, yet they have adapted and survived and thrived. The last time I checked, they were nowhere close to being on the endangered species list. 

So let's all get busy and strive to become alligators and leave the dinosaur attitude where it belongs--the Jurassic period.