Dominique D. Johnson

HRDV 5610 Training and Development
Professor Shaughna L. Vaughan
December 19, 2014

Physical fitness is a high priority for every soldier and has a direct influence on the overall readiness of an organization. The Army requires each soldier to have the ability to pass a physical fitness test twice a year, while remaining in height and weight standards at all times. In my current organization, there is a problem with both soldiers having the ability to pass a physical fitness test as well as remaining in accordance with the Army’s Body Fat Program. Physical training is an individual responsibility, however commanders can implement training programs to help soldiers on every level meet the Army’s physical fitness standards. The Problem The Army’s physical fitness test consists of three events: push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run in an allotted amount of time. Age and gender determine the number of repetitions that must be completed in two minutes and the amount of time allowed to complete the two-mile run. There are alternate events such as the walk and bicycle for soldiers that may have physical limitations that prevent them for complete the standard physical fitness test. Each soldier personal characteristics and abilities are unique when it comes to physical fitness; therefore the physical fitness program has to target various fitness levels. It is up to leaders to identify soldier’s strength and weakness and develop fitness plans to help soldiers succeed. The Army publishes manuals that provide a baseline for physical training, however it is up to leaders to enforce and execute according to the Army Physical Fitness Manual. The major problem within the organization is leaders not enforcing the Army’s standard and making their soldiers perform physical training on a regular basis. In addition, many leaders are not familiar with the Army’s intent when it comes to physical training because they do not educate themselves with the physical training manual. Non-Commissioned Officers normally lead physical training, therefore if they are not educate on physical training it can have a domino effect on a large number of soldiers. Most units within the Army have an allotted amount of time for physical training. Usually, the physical training will be conducted in the morning for approximately an hour and a half. However, like in any organizations, if standards and rules are not enforced you will have individuals that will not follow rules. My current unit is one of the highest sustainment headquarters in the Army, therefore it is made of mostly senior officers and enlisted personal. In theory, these senior personal do not require an immense amount of supervisor because they have been in the military for a while and they understand the expectations. However, because these personal are senior and don’t receive a lot of supervisor we have an issue with accountability when it comes to physical fitness formations. Although, most individuals will show up in the morning they are not conducting physical training to standard and some at all, hence influencing both overall physical fitness scores as well as promoting a negative appearance for some individuals within the unit. Overall, the root of the problem is getting everyone to buy into the commander’s physical fitness program as well as the top leaders improving accountability procedures and ensure everyone is conducting physical training on a daily basis. The problem may sound easy, but it can be extremely difficult for the commander to monitor over 500 personal without a strong support channel. The commander has his or her intent, however for the plan to be executed effectively social supported is needed on all levels.

The Needs

Physical training is typically conducted every morning it can often become boring if things are not change frequently. In addition, the body tends to get use to routines and improvement will stop or show without being introduced to new training methods, therefore change is vital on a regular basis. Finding ways to keep employees motivated to perform is key in any organization and can become difficult if the required performance is the same each day. Therefore, the critical training needs for the organization are developing a physical fitness program that promote frequent change and keeps employees motivated as well as make leader accountable for the soldiers and ensure they are conducting physical training on a consistence basis. The goal of the physical training program is keep soldier motivated so they want to show up to formation knowing they have a chance of improving each day. To do so, leaders require training on the Army’s physical fitness program. Leaders have to be able to use the Army’s guidance as a baseline, but be able to think outside of the box to prevent the physical fitness program from Often in the Army, soldiers are given task, however they are not given the purpose or reason for the task. Although, the unit is made of mostly seniors, every employee in any organization requires continuous motivation and sense of purpose for continued success.

The Learning Objectives and Training Method

Firstly, to build and sustain an effective physical fitness program leaders require training on effective methods of training. The learning objective is to educate leaders on The Army’s physical training doctrine and physical fitness techniques that help sustain overall effectiveness of a unit. The Army has a Master Fitness training course made up of civilian and Army personal that is designed to give leaders the tool to meet the learning objectives, however because of funding it is hard to get leaders into these course. With the United States being involved in world conflict for some time now, many of the resources are reserved for war efforts. Therefore, I would use the train the trainer method to save resources. I would send one of my leaders to the course and once complete I would have them conduct a course for all leaders within my organization. There are pros and cons to using this method, but I think that the pros outweigh the cons heavily. The major problem that I see with the train the trainer method is the person who is trained may not be able to teach the program as trained, hence creating major problems. To help eliminate this possibility, I would be extremely careful in the selection process and send more than one person if possible. On the other hand, this is the most cost effective and efficient method for the organization. In addition, it is extremely difficult to have all the leaders out of the organization at one time for training that will likely take several weeks because of mission requirement, so train the trainer is likely the best option. This is the main reason why things like physical training often take a backset because at times the mission requirements require additional hours. Leaders have to use sound judgment to be able to maximize time for physical training because it is a vital part of being a soldier.

Delivery of the Training Training will be delivered in phases over the course of an eight-week period broken down into learning and execution phases. Each day instead of leaders conducting physical training with the unit they will conduct physical training with a certified Master Fitness trainer within the organization. This will not take any additional time out of leaders schedule because this is the normal time for physical fitness training. The training will be broken down over eight weeks to give leaders enough time to learn the material and also become familiar of training soldiers. The fact is everyone that learns the material will not be a great instructor; however with practice leaders can work on the skill set to obtain the ability to train to standard. Some day training will be conducted in a classroom environment and these are primarily the days that are focus on instruction. On these days information about the proper nutrition will be introduce to leaders. Nutrition is a huge piece of physical fitness; therefore leaders should have general knowledge about nutrition. Leaders can only become creative with their training programs when they become completely familiar with the training manual. At the end of the training event leaders will be evaluated by leading physical training in front of their peers and bases on how they perform will determine if they are certified Master Fitness Trainers. Everyone will not pass the course and it will not be a “check the box” training event like many in the Army. Someone from outside of the organization to ensure that leaders are trained to standard will evaluate leaders. Many times when using the train the trainer method, the trainer certifies personal without training them completely to standard because of rank or position. For example, you may have high ranking personal that are require to attend a training event, but because of their rank or position they are too busy so the trainer does not enforce the requirement. Because training is critical, I think an outside sources would be the best method of certifying even though soldiers of the unit perform the training. This is simply a practice to keep everyone honest while ensuring trainers are able to train to standard. After leaders are certified their will still be an additional evaluation period within the unit to ensure effectiveness. Trained Master Fitness trainers within the unit will conduct periodic evaluation to ensure that leaders are staying familiar with the manual while also providing effective training for soldiers. In the early stages, the training event will require a lot of resources and time, however once leaders are trained the programs should run flawlessly.
Results
Leaders will determine the results of the training event. If leaders support the training event and seek to learn the information, then the results will be remarkable. The training is designed to help with overall organizational readiness, so leaders have to take this training event as an opportunity to improve their organization. It will take a collective effort from the leaders to help enforce the training plan once the personal are certified to instructed. There is no training event that can help leaders become more accountable that will come from leadership monitoring their soldiers carefully. Once the physical fitness plan is fully functional everyone in the organization will benefit from the program. Leaders and soldiers will become more physically fit, and they will also live a healthier lifestyle. This plan will help the organization for years to come and leaders should continue to train other leaders on the program. Overall evaluation of success or failure of the training evaluation will be determine within the next year because soldiers within the organization would have taken two physical fitness test at this point. Height and weight is required after each physical fitness test, therefore progress in both area can be monitored. The statistics of the pervious physical fitness test and body fat percentages will be examined to determine success or failure of the training event. The needs assignment identified the root problem in the organization and a way to effectively meet the needs of the organizations. The organization has problem with height and weight and physical fitness, therefore it is a true need for improvement within the organization. Leaders are the key to improving the organization, so training leaders will help improve the overall readiness of the organization. Needs assignments are great tools to identify problems within organizations and will likely help my current organization improve overall fitness within the organization.