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Copyright by Alexandra Katarina Paez 2018 The Report Committee for Alexandra Katarina Paez Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Report: Some Soldiers Carry Weight of Army Regulations APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Robert W. Jensen, Supervisor Robert B. Brenner Some Soldiers Carry Weight of Army Regulations by Alexandra Katarina Paez Report Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin May 2018 Dedication To my husband who opened my eyes to a whole new world. To my mom and Toby, who have always been my cheerleaders. And to the U.S. military members and their families. Acknowledgements Thank you to my readers, Bob Jensen and R.B. Brenner, for your guidance on this report. Thank you to Professor Kathleen McElroy, who assured me that my gut can be trusted. Also, a special thank you to Mr. Wayne who took care of everything else so I could write. v Abstract Some Soldiers Carry Weight of Army Regulations Alexandra Katarina Paez, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisor: Robert W. Jensen According to Army standards, many soldiers are overweight, but this isn’t only a problem with current soldiers, it has become a major recruiting challenge. Weight and body composition is determined by methods prescribed by the Department of Defense. Many service members take issue with these programs because of unattainable weight requirements and outdated methods used to measure body fat in soldiers. With current methods, soldiers with larger body frames can be mistaken for having high body fat content and can be separated from the military. vi Table of Contents Text ......................................................................................................................................1 References ..........................................................................................................................20 vii On a crisp South Korean morning, Cameron Guest, a 23-year-old U.S. Army Intelligence specialist, marched through Dragon Valley, where roads are steep and deteriorating. Mountains surround the edges of his destination, the shooting range at Camp Casey. Guest and his team were on a ruck march from Camp Hovey, carrying all their gear along seven miles of gravel road, steep hills, and dangerous drop-offs. As Guest turned a corner, a chunk of gravel broke off the side of the road and tumbled down the hill into a creek. Loaded up with gear, his body landed on the road while his lower leg plunged toward the creek. “I felt something snap in my knee, and I knew I hurt something,” he recalled. Over the next few days it became harder to move his knee, and when he saw the unit’s physician assistant she handed him a bottle of ibuprofen. Guest thought his knee would get better. That was in October 2015. Over the next year the injury was misdiagnosed, he said, and the pain and the reduced mobility got worse. In September 2016, he took the Army physical fitness test. His knee gave out as he crossed the finish line and he barely completed the test. 1 Soldiers take the physical fitness test twice a year. They must complete three events: two minutes of sit-ups, two minutes of push-ups, and a timed two-mile run. In February 2017, Guest’s weakened knee prevented him from completing the test. But it turned out that something else put Guest’s military career in jeopardy: his weight. The injury in South Korea limited his ability to exercise; he could no longer run, jump, bike, or swim. He could lift weights and do stationary exercises, but those wouldn’t help keep him trim. Along with the Army physical fitness test, all soldiers are weighed to make sure they are staying within the allotted weight range for their height and age. Failing to meet the Army’s weight requirements could put a soldier’s career at risk. A commander can decide to separate the soldier from the Army. Cardiovascular exercises, which burn the most calories and fat, were no longer an option for Guest. Running is a common activity in Army training to help soldiers keep fit, build endurance, and promote comradery. Unit runs, where large groups of soldiers run in formation, are a military tradition. “Cardio went out the window,” Guest said. Guest was sent to an orthopedic specialist and told he needed surgery, but his unit was set to deploy to South Korea again. He decided he would get the surgery while on his next deployment there. Until then, the orthopedic specialist at Fort Hood in Central Texas gave him a steroid shot to relieve the pain. 2 Since his knee injury, Guest’s exercise options grew limited. He went to the gym during his lunch breaks and after work to lift weights, but still gained 28 pounds. He was facing a potential problem all too common in the Army. According to Army standards, many soldiers are overweight, but this isn’t only a retention problem. Over the last decade, it has become a major recruiting challenge. One third of young adults ranging in age from 20 to 39 are obese, according to “The State of Obesity,” an annual report by Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit organization that focuses on disease prevention. About 40-percent of military recruits come from Southern states, including Texas, which have increased rates of obesity and decreased physical activity. Six of the top 10 states with the most active duty and reserve soldiers are Southern states. A study conducted by The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, found that 10 states from the South and Southeastern regions produce significantly less fit male and female recruits. The Department of Defense Physical Fitness and Body Fat Programs require that all military branches have physical fitness programs to develop and maintain the readiness of soldiers. All branches must submit a report to the Department of Defense that assesses physical fitness, body fat, and health promotion programs. 3 But, many service members take issue with these programs because of unattainable weight requirements and the “cheap” method used to measure body fat in soldiers. With current methods, soldiers with larger body frames can be mistaken for having high body fat content. The Army aims to maintain soldiers at a high level of physical fitness, measured by two methods: the physical fitness test and a regular body fat screening. The physical fitness test is the first measurement to ensure that the soldier is ready to deploy. Then soldiers must pass the body fat screening. Soldiers are weighed and have their height measured, and they must fall within the Army body weight range. If they do not, then soldiers must “get taped.” “Getting taped” means that male soldiers will have their neck and their abdomen measured. In addition to those measurements, female soldiers have their buttocks measured at the largest point. According to the Army’s Body Composition Standards, Guest is overweight for his 5’9” frame and should weigh no more than 179 pounds. When he joined the Army in 2014, he weighed 235 pounds. Despite high intensity training and a rigorous regiment during nine weeks at Basic Training, Guest did not meet Army weight standards at his lowest weight in his adult life, 207 pounds. 4 The Army uses the Weight for Height chart to screen soldiers to expedite the body fat screening process. If they weigh less than the maximum weight on the chart, then they do not need to have their bodies measured by tape measure. The Army uses “body circumferences” to determine a person’s body fat percentage. Soldiers commonly refer to this as the “tape test.” Because Guest does not meet weight standards, he is taped every time the soldiers are screened. In October 2017, Guest was set to get his knee surgery during his second deployment in Korea. The day before his surgery, his commander had him taped. His abdomen was measured, and his neck was measured. He failed by one-percent body fat. According to the Army regulation, commanders can order a “tape test” for any soldier they think does not appear fit, regardless of whether the soldier exceeds the weight in the screening table. Soldiers can be exempt for a period, if there is a temporary medical reason preventing the loss of body fat. Guest was flagged, a notice to the entire Army that he wasn’t meeting expectations. When a soldier is flagged he cannot be promoted, qualify for any special schools, or move on to his or her next station. Guest had orders to go to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. after returning to Fort Hood from Korea, but after failing the tape test, his orders were put on hold. 5 The surgeon wrote a note preventing Guest from getting kicked out of the Army if he didn’t pass tape because he was still recovering from the knee surgery. A month after the surgery, November 2017, Guest was back in the gym. He lost four pounds, but also lost inches in his neck. The next tape test, his neck was measured. His abdomen was measured. He failed by two-percent body fat. The next month, he had lost another four pounds, but still had not lost any body fat according to the tape test. By the time he returned to Fort Hood in February 2018, Guest had lost 23 pounds since the surgery and still had not passed the tape test. “I knew I had to do something because I wasn’t passing the tape test and I was worried about my job,” he said. And so was I.

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