Mandatory daily physical fitness will likely be official policy in the Air Force before Christmas, but many units across the service are getting an early start on daily workouts, marking a major culture shift in the force.
One aircraft mechanic at an overseas Air Force base told Task & Purpose their commander had implemented daily PT, shorthand for “physical training,” at 5 a.m. before a full day on the job, but they were finding the base’s gyms were overrun with other groups doing the same thing. At bases under the purview of Air Force Special Operations Command, an official said, many units in the command have “leaned forward” in anticipation of the new rules by starting daily PT in the last month, only to find they needed to break unit events into smaller groups because of trouble locating enough post-workout showers.
While daily PT formations are as central to life in the Army and Marine Corps as shouting noncommissioned officers, not all Air Force units have traditionally carved out time for daily fitness during duty hours. Though the service has always had annual fitness testing — which once included a stationary bike test as the primary event — the requirement to be in shape has long been viewed in many parts of the service as a personal responsibility for airmen to handle during off-duty hours.
As recently as September, service leaders launched a new “Culture of Fitness” initiative, which included opening gyms 24 hours a day and new “fitness assessments.” But mandatory PT during the duty day wasn’t part of it. Undersecretary of the Air Force Matthew Lohmeier told Task & Purpose in September that, “You have to leave those kinds of decisions up to the command teams for their best judgment, I think.”
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However, that approach was upended in September when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that all five military branches had 60 days to start daily workouts as part of the regular duty day. That countdown, which began with a Hegseth memo issued Sept. 30, will run out two days after Thanksgiving.
“We’re not talking, like, hot yoga and stretching,” Hegseth said in an address to senior officers Sept. 30. “Real, hard PT, either as a unit or an individual. At every level, from the Joint Chiefs to everyone in this room to the youngest private.”
In the month since, the Air Force has not issued any new service-wide fitness requirements, but many local commanders have rolled out programs for their own units.
“You are seeing commanders using their authority to comply with [Hegseth’s] guidance,” an Air Force spokesperson told Task & Purpose. “We are still working on implementation guidance and expect to have more information soon.”
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An Air Force Special Operations Command spokesperson said that its commander, Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, returned from the September briefing and immediately put the word out that commanders should gin up PT plans.
“He instructed to move out with intent and not wait for official guidance,” the spokesperson said. “He left it for commanders to decide what worked within the squadrons and adjust as necessary to their battle rhythms. So it might be the first thing or the end of the day.”
The airman at an overseas base said their unit’s commander had mandated that troops do three days a week of cardio or strength training, with the other two days used for a team sport, like basketball. The program, they said, was unlike any they’d seen before.
“This is my 6th base and first time I’ve had PT implemented into my duty day,” they said. Along with maintenance troops, the airmen said several squadrons whose duty days are generally spent in office jobs are also now out doing PT, including finance and medical troops. “One thing I know everyone is feeling the pain of is, now the entire base is doing PT, and gyms, equipment and space are very limited.”