Eglin Airmen join Marines in combat fitness test

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bryan Franks
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) --  Eglin Air Force Base Airmen joined the Marines during their annual combat fitness test Nov. 25 here.

Airmen who came out for the combat fitness test accepted the invitation from Marine Sgt. Maj. Bonnie Skinner of the 501st Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron to try out the newest addition to the fitness program.

"It's good to expose Airmen and Marines to each other's cultures," Sergeant Major Skinner said.

All Marines must pass this evaluation in addition to the standard physical fitness test.

"This is about combat readiness, and, as expected, all our Marines met Marine Corps fitness standards," said Col. Dave Hlatky, 33rd Fighter Wing commander. "There are a lot of new and exciting things going on in the 33rd FW, but readiness to fight today's fight will never change. In addition, we have near-term training facility plans to ensure all our service members maintain their combat readiness. The enthusiasm and multiservice exposure today will help us develop the 'joint' culture of the 33rd FW."

Most operations carried out overseas occur in a joint environment. Likewise, the 33rd FW staff is a joint unit including Airmen, Marines and Sailors, that allows servicemembers to work side-by-side here and abroad.

The new Marine combat fitness test is a pass/fail system, but recently the Marine Corps established points for the events that count toward promotion and are annotated in their performance evaluations.

"The CFT is a better gauge of one's true fitness," the sergeant major said.

The combat fitness test consists of three events: an 880-yard run in boots and utility uniforms, ammo can lifts and maneuver under fire. While the run and ammo can lifts speak for themself, this maneuver under fire creates a new dimension of difficulty.

The Marines and Airmen had to accomplish a grueling 300-yard course consisting of low crawls, high crawls, casualty carries, ammo box carries and even a grenade toss. By the end of the course, participants were digging deep to carry the two 30-pound ammo the last 75 yards.

"This was tough. I could barely feel my legs when I was done," said Staff Sgt. Simon Delacruz, assigned to the 96th Security Forces Squadron. "The cans are the killers."