Probatus.

This is coolbert:

"Better is the enemy of good enough!" - Russian proverb.

Also from Strategy Page and once more thanks to same.

"Murphy's Law: When Better Is Not Worth It"

"April 10, 2023: The U.S. Army decided not to replace the long-used tape test to determine body composition of soldiers or potential recruits. There were proposals to use a more accurate system that utilized X-ray and body scanning machines that required skilled technicians to operate. The tape test costs about five dollars $ per use while the proposed replacement costs over a thousand dollars $ per test. The Tape test provides inaccurate results between two and three percent % of the time, while the proposed test gets that down to about one percent % or less. The new test is simply not worth the additional cost because false results with the tape test have never been a problem. The results can be appealed and that resolves most problems."

"Body composition test accuracy became an issue as more people are having trouble meeting physical requirements to join or remain in the army. Over a decade ago the army tightened its physical requirements for new recruits. That meant male recruits could not have a body fat percentage higher than 24 percent % (it used to be 26) and for females it was 30 percent % (it used to be 32)."

Years ago the army also used the dunk tank for "hydrostatic underwater weighing". Gave a very accurate measure of body composition. That test done away with? Requires special equipment and personnel costly.

"Hydrostatic underwater weighing is a method used to measure body composition and fat by weighing an athlete in a tank of water. It is based on Archimedes’ Principle of Displacement and has long been considered the gold standard for body composition assessment"

Such tests can be given to not only recruits but also career personnel if "body composition" not according to standard.

Back in the days of the Roman Empire a recruit to the legions had to undergo a physical exam with particular attention to the ratio, the width of the shoulders as compared to the width of the waist. Even in times of yore a proper body composition was found to be desirable for the military man

coolbert