The Defense Department is initiating a new program to
improve the physical fitness of its people. Fred Pang, assistant
secretary of defense for Force Management Policy, announced
Operation Be Fit to serve not only as a blueprint to foster a
renewed emphasis on the physical fitness of the entire military
community, but to enable the Department of Defense to set the
standard and assume national leadership in comprehensive physical
fitness programs and activities.
"Operation Be Fit" will focus on improving and expanding
programs in fitness and sports as well as in recreation
activities that involve physical activity. DoD also will take
initiatives and actions to encourage all members of the military
community to participate in the programs. This initiative will
build on the significant efforts already ongoing within each of
the Services by combining expertise within the Department, and by
adding DoD emphasis and endorsement to these endeavors.
Pang praised the initiative. Maintaining the peace
through military training and preparedness -- and fighting a war
if necessary -- calls for men and women who are extremely fit.
What we spend in fitness, sports and recreation programs that
leads to physical fitness is an investment -- its the human side
of force modernization. When the military community
participation in regular physical activity increases, we free up
health care dollars that can be used for other critical needs.
We also get the significant benefit of having a total workforce
that does the job better than ever before.
In addition to military readiness, Secretary Pang's
memorandum cites the findings of the July 1996 US Surgeon
General's Report on Physical Activity and Health as an important
reason to undertake this physical fitness. The Surgeon General's
Report concludes that regular physical activity is associated
with a decreased incidence of disease, substantially improved
overall physical and mental health, and an improved quality of
life.
Last December the Department hosted a major fitness forum
that included senior representatives from the Military
Departments and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and other
interested agencies. The forum put the final endorsement on the
DoD initiative and set the course for work to develop DoD
standards for fitness activities, and plan for a campaign to
encourage increased use of military fitness, sports and
recreation activities.
The Executive Director of the President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports, Sandra Perlmutter, commended the DoD
announcement. The Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity
and Health is a landmark document in our nation's understanding
of a public health threat, much as the 1964 Surgeon General's
report on the hazards of smoking turned out to be. Our goal is
to encourage/help all Americans to become more physically active
so they can receive the many very real benefits associated with
an active lifestyle. I commend the Department of Defense for
being the first federal agency to embrace the findings in the
report and develop a specific action plan to increase physical
activity among its workforce and their families. We hope that
other government organizations will follow suit. The President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports looks forward to working
with the Department of Defense on implementation of this plan.
The Department expects to begin rolling out the completed
standards and actions associated with this initiative this fall.
