Are You Ready? Published Feb. 24, 2010 By Lt. Col. James Turner 39th Force Support Squadron commander INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- Fitness is a way of life; we must incorporate fitness into our daily regimens and establish an environment for our members to maintain physically fit and maintain healthy lifestyles in order to meet mission requirements. The Fitness Assessment is the primary vehicle we use to determine the fitness of our military personnel. Air Force Instruction 36-2905, Fitness Program, was published on Jan. 12 of this year with an effective date of July 1, 2010. Incirlik is well on the way to ensuring we are ready to execute the transition as a wing. We have laid the foundation for success, having prepared the groundwork for the manning, location and scheduling support necessary to meet these new assessment challenges. One of the more significant updates is in the way we will be tested. All testing will be administered in our new centralized testing area, the Fitness Assessment Cell. Strategically located on the first floor of building 483 next to the end of the running track, the FA Cell will be staffed by full-time trained proctors. That's correct! Your unit physical training leaders and unit fitness program monitors will no longer perform the testing. Another change is in the increased test frequency to twice a year. UFPMs will make the testing appointment through a centralized scheduling program directly through the FAC. All you will need to do is show up with your ID card and completed Fitness Screening Questionnaire. The rest of the process will remain largely the same for us as end users. One of the key points to be aware of is the revised component weighting and scoring based on the health-fitness hierarchy. There is an increase in the aerobic portion of the testing from 50 to 60 points and a decrease in the abdominal circumference weight scale; from 30 to 20 points. Push-ups and sit-ups remain the same with 10 points for each. Additionally, there is a new minimum component requirement to pass the test, everyone must score composite 75 points and meet minimum requirements for each component. For those not medically cleared to complete the run portion, a one mile walk test will be used as the alternate. The Ergo bike test and three-mile walk tests have been eliminated. The scoring process incorporates three-tier scoring, criteria similar to higher headquarters inspection grading since fitness is a readiness issue, and here is a breakdown of the new scoring scale: Grading below 74.9 or if anyone of the component minimums is not met = Unsatisfactory/Fail 75.0 - 89.9 and all component minimums met = Satisfactory/Pass 90.0 - 100 and all component minimums met = Excellent/Pass It is scientifically proven that the physical benefits of active lifestyle, increase productivity, improve overall health and decrease absenteeism while main¬taining a higher level of readiness. Incirlik is ready for the new assessment programming are you ready to meet the new standards?