FORT DRUM, N.Y. (June 8, 2016) -- There is no question that the physical demands placed upon today's Soldiers are rigorous. In a climate where service members must be ready at a moment's notice to fulfill their mission around the globe, the importance of a fit and ready force cannot be understated.
In an effort to provide Soldiers with the tools they need to take an active role in achieving and maintaining the highest level of fitness possible, 35 Soldiers from across the 10th Mountain Division (LI) recently participated in a Master Fitness Trainer course.
After completing an online distance learning course, these individuals spent two weeks working with Mobile Training Team instructors from the U.S. Army Physical Fitness School, based at Fort Jackson, S.C.
The purpose of the course was to teach these Soldiers to assist their battle buddies and their command staff in implementing effective physical fitness plans -- catered to both individuals and units as a whole -- that will improve overall readiness, said Master Sgt. Gabriel Lopez, U.S. Army Physical Fitness School noncommissioned officer in charge.
"Once our MFTs (master fitness trainers) graduate, they are liaisons for the commander who can implement a PT program," he said. "We talk about how to perform assessments and how to develop a fitness program that takes into account the fitness level of individuals, their physical limitations and the physical demands of their job."
While the standards set forth in the Army Physical Fitness Test have not changed in decades, the tasks that Soldiers must complete -- and the physical demands of these tasks -- have. This means that the way in which Soldiers prepare to meet these demands also needs to change, said Staff Sgt. William Webb, one of the Master Fitness Trainer course instructors.
"The course involves learning a lot about functional fitness -- exercising in a way that really prepares Soldiers for the mission that they are charged with," he said. "The focus is on how functional fitness fundamentals can be used to better units and improve readiness."
Creating effective exercise plans begins with taking a close look at the current physical condition of the unit, said Sgt. 1st Class Liela Cowhig, MTT leader.
"Before they start to implement a program, they need to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses within the units so they can work on these issues and continue to increase the strength of that unit," she said.
Once these strengths and weaknesses have been identified, an appropriate plan can be put in place.
"Optimization of performance is an important concept that we teach them because the by-product of that is injury prevention," Cowhig continued. "We are focusing on technique, progression and how to put an effective program together."
The intent of the instructors, Cowhig said, is to send these newly trained master fitness trainers back to their units prepared to help re-shape the fitness program of their team.
"We are teaching them science-based information," she said. "We're trying to produce more aware coaches so that they can enhance the force while being the commander or first sergeant's 'right-hand man' for ensuring injury prevention."
Capt. Michael Mead, U.S. Army Medical Department Activity Fort Drum Medical Company commander, said that learning about injury prevention was one of his main goals in completing the course.
"We're pretty hard on our bodies," he said. "I think one of the most important things you can teach someone is to take care of their bodies. If you don't, not only are you going to be unable to accomplish the mission, your quality of life will suffer."
Staff Sgt. Mary Valdez, a small group leader from the Fort Drum Noncommissioned Officer's Academy, said that, as an instructor for the Basic Leader Course, she looked forward to the opportunity to share her new-found knowledge with course participants.
"It makes me want to work harder, because I know being able to pass this knowledge along to future leaders -- it means that this information is going to continue to spread," she said.
Highly trained leaders who know how to build a strong foundation of fitness are extremely important in supporting Fort Drum's new Unbreakable Warrior initiative, said Lt. Col. Craig Taylor, 10th Mountain Division surgeon.
"The goals of the Unbreakable Warrior program are to increase readiness by reducing overuse injury and returning Soldiers to full duty," Taylor said. "Deployable Soldiers are our No. 1 priority. This program aims to reduce injuries resulting from daily PT … through a holistic installation approach and by integrating programs into a comprehensive physical training program."
Master fitness trainers will be a vital asset to the implementation of the program, Taylor said.
"Trained leaders have the knowledge to construct deliberate, well-thought-out physical training plans that allow commanders to safely obtain training goals," he said.
While the Soldiers learned a great deal during the course, Cowhig said that continuing to expand their knowledge is important.
"You're not going to learn everything from us, and definitely not in a two-week course," she said. "If we can ignite that motivation and provide them with an awareness of how we can increase Soldier performance, then I think we have accomplished our goal."
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