Vicenza, Italy — Sitting in front of a computer and filling out a questionnaire sounds like a strange way to test fitness, but that's exactly how the Army will measure the fitness of the force as part of the new Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program.
The CSF program is focused on building personally resilient troops by ensuring they're healthy in their physical, emotional, social, family, and spiritual lives, said Megan Hallam, USAG Vicenza's Health Promotion Officer. At Vicenza, the military community is leading the way by establishing the first working group in Europe to integrate the program at the installation level.
The program was established in October of 2008 as a proactive way to help Soldiers deal with the stress of military service in an era of persistent conflict, according to the CSF Web site.
Divorce rates, increased suicide risk, instances of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, substance abuse, sexual assault, and attrition were the drivers behind the new program, according to a presentation by Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Rhonda Cornum, the Army's assistant surgeon general for force projection, at the Association of the United States Army Conference in October.
The Army level program is beginning by collecting information about Soldiers' holistic fitness. Soldiers will have to complete the Global Assessment Tool (GAT), an online test which evaluates the CSF's five areas of concern.
The GAT will then give the Soldier a confidential snapshot of his or her holistic health, followed by access to training modules designed to build greater personal resiliency skills. The pilot phase of the GAT was completed in October. The test will be re-worked before being introduced at large, although the GAT is still available for Soldiers.
All non-deployed Soldiers will be required to complete the GAT by March 2010.
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