Last summer, a wish list of nine changes to toughen the Navy's fitness program went viral throughout the fleet, with suggestions for random body composition testing, the end of "bad day" re-tests and others.
The list prompted feedback, from vehement support to demands that the Navy change the way it measures fitness.
In 2015, the service is taking a closer look at some of those sailor requests:
Command fitness leaders. The Navy's Physical Fitness Program is recommending the Navy adopt an official CFL enlisted classification in 2015, which would formalize the collateral duty, as well as allow detailers to track sailors with the certification during the assignment process. The change will take effect in the next fitness instruction, though a date for that hasn't been set, Cmdr. Chris Servello, spokesman for the chief of naval personnel, told Navy Times.
Height-and-weight. More than anything else on the Physical Fitness Assessment, sailors argue that the height and weight chart is out of date — and the service is going to check that out. In 2015, Servello said, the Navy will review height, weight and body fat requirements, to see if they need updating.
PT studs. As it stands, there are several ways for skippers to reward sailors who max out their PFA, including special T-shirts, a convenient parking spot, special liberty or a shout-out in the plan of the day. Those perks are at the discretion of each CO for now, but in 2015, the Navy is looking at the possibility of fleet-wide rewards for outstanding scores.
"The 21st Century Sailors Office is looking into both [body fat and PT rewards] and will make recommendations to leadership in 2015," Servello said.
Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.
