Guard officials stress physical fitness Published May 28, 2004 By Army Master Sgt. Bob Haskell National Guard Bureau KEYSTONE, Colo. (AFPN) -- Qatar is not as hot in November and December as it is in July and August; but the 80- to 90-degree days and the 40-degree nights in that small desert land between Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf can raise havoc with people who are not physically fit.That is a lesson some Airmen of the New York Air National Guard at Syracuse learned for themselves in Qatar during the last two months of 2003, said Col. (Dr.) Reid Muller, commander of the 174th Fighter Wing’s medical group. He is also a practicing cardiologist.“There was a period of adjustment, and it would have been a little easier for some of the people if they had been paying better attention to their physical fitness,” said Dr. Muller, who is an advocate for the Air National Guard’s new fitness program.Dr. Muller helped prepare the program that Col. Sylvia Nye is administering for 108,000 Air National Guardsmen. Colonel Nye is a nurse and fitness advocate who said she feels good physical fitness enhances people’s overall health and quality of life.The long-range benefit of the Air Guard program started last year focusing on five areas: body composition, cardio-respiratory, flexibility, muscular strength and endurance, Colonel Nye said during the Air Guard’s Readiness Frontiers Medical Conference here.“This isn’t just about taking an annual physical fitness test,” Colonel Nye said. “This is about enhancing our Guard members’ lifestyles. We can help people … improve their diets and exercise programs so they will feel better about themselves and perform better in their everyday activities, thus improving their test scores.”The more pressing objective, however, is to improve the physical fitness of guardsmen who are being deployed to harsh terrain during the war on terrorism.“Physical fitness is a command program, because commanders need to know the fitness of their people as well as their airplanes and other equipment,” Colonel Nye said.“We have to become a more fit force,” said Col. (Dr.) Randall Falk, the National Guard Bureau's air surgeon. “We are deploying to rugged and remote areas. We’re serving under austere conditions. We’re not going just to Ramstein Air Base in Germany or to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland that have all of the creature comforts, advanced medical support and neighborhood pharmacies. A fit force suffers fewer occupational injuries and illnesses.”Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper is emphasizing improved fitness for all Airmen in active and reserve components, so they are ready to deploy, Colonel Nye said.This message led to a standard physical-fitness test for all Airmen, as well as the idea that everyone develop a workout schedule for at least three times each week, Colonel Nye said.The test includes running or a three-minute step test, abdominal circumference measurements, push-ups, sit-ups and stretching.Guardsmen go a step further with the fitness age program, she said. The program is a way to determine how each Airman’s fitness score compares with their chronological ages.The average age for the 67,000 people tested last year was 36, Colonel Nye said. The average fitness age was also 36, she said.That is a pretty good sign that, overall, guardsmen are in pretty good physical condition; but fitness is a personal matter, and some people are in considerably better shape than others, Colonel Nye said.Those who are not physically fit may find the adjustment considerably harder in hot or cold or high-altitude environments than those who are, officials said.“If you want to thrive and make your life a lot more enjoyable, it’s better to be in shape and stay in shape,” Dr. Muller said. “There is no excuse for not being fit. If you are not in shape, you will be mission ineffective.”