Warfit for your family, career

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Susan Helms
  • 45th Space Wing Commander
A few weeks ago, I wrote a Missileer article about the Air Force's Fitness Program and how critical it is to our mission accomplishment and our well being. Now that the Air Force has decided to include your fitness status on your performance report, I'd like to emphasize one more time how important it is to meet the fitness standards of the Air Force. 

Stay fit for yourself and your family! Fitness is imperative in everything we do as human beings. If you maintain a healthy lifestyle and stay fit, not only are you ensuring that you will live longer and feel better, but you are also, in essence, taking care of your family. Think about the difference in your quality of life if your preventable health issues lead to something that your entire family must deal with! 

Stay fit for your career! There's no question now that the new fitness standards implemented more than three years ago are here to stay. Compliance with these standards will soon be placed on performance reports, and each and every one of you should assume that a negative fit test result that's documented in your record could potentially have a detrimental effect on your future. In today's era of downsizing, this is a risk you must recognize and act upon - and if you are a supervisor, take ownership of this issue for those under your watch! 

Stay fit for your Air Force! We are solidly in a readiness culture, no question about it. Not only is being fit critical to your ability to effectively do your mission, but others on your mission team depend on you. In today's expeditionary Air Force, physical fitness goes hand-in-hand with readiness. 

We have top-notch Airmen assigned to the 45th Space Wing, and fitness is just another element of our excellence. As with mission performance and PME requirements, we need to know at any given time if our Airmen are fit and ready to go. Most of you are already in great shape, but I worry about those who don't realize the implications of this new guidance. That is why I am asking each of you to get Warfit tested by Aug. 31, so that every Shark understands that this is a critical aspect of our mission. This test won't count against those who fail (unless your testing month is August) but it can be used as an official test if you wish - the most important point is to know the standard and know where you stand! Go Sharks!