Phenomenal.

This is coolbert:

Within context the eminent British military historian Sir John Keegan rated the Finnish soldier during the era of World War Two as the BEST.

CONSIDER THIS TO BE A WORLD-WIDE PHENOMENON AND  NOT JUST THE FINN.

Thanks the Russian Internet media outlet Sputnik in both cases.

1. "Finnish Military Lowers Physical Condition Threshold to Include 'PlayStation Boys'"

"As the proportion of men has decreased significantly over the years, from 93 percent in the early 1980s to below 70 percent today, the Finnish Armed Forces would also like more women to volunteer to plug the gap."

"Finnish Armed Forces is reviewing service classes amid a general drop in the physical condition of conscripts. The goal of this reorganization is to accommodate less fit conscripts."

2. "Finnish Conscripts' Fitness Conditions 'Worse Than Ever Before'"

"In the past few decades, the average Finnish draftee gained entire seven kilograms [fifteen pounds], while losing muscle strength and stamina."

"Fitness tests, continually used by the Finnish Armed Forces, indicate that overall conditions have deteriorated to a previously unseen level, with weight rising and muscle strength plummeting," 

Again, this is a world-wide phenomenon and not relegated merely to the Finnish recruit or the American civilian counter-part for that matter.

See previous blog entries as pertinent:

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2018/03/food.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/09/frustrated.html

https://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/07/73.html

coolbert.

Fitness III. [Conclusion]

This is coolbert:

"We were like slow moving turtles. My rucksack weighed 120 pounds. I would get up and rush for 10 yards, throw myself down and couldn't get up. I'd rest for 10 to 15 minutes, struggle to get up, go 10 yards, and collapse. After a few rushes, I was physically unable to move, and I am in great shape. Finally . . . I shucked my rucksack and was able to fight, but I was totally drained." - - an American Ranger - - Grenada.

"Not all...were physically capable of enduring the long marches with heavy loads which were constant features of the Falklands War. An interesting and quite surprising occurrence was the number of physical training cadre that fell out of the marches. In garrison these cadre ran company physical training. It was determined that some of these cadre were unable to complete the force marches with such heavy loads because they were not able to maintain a high-protein diet."

Here again from the web site and article entitled:
"FITNESS SHOULD BE COMBAT-ORIENTED"

The English training cadre, those persons that during peace-time are responsible for maintaining the combat ready physical fitness of the British Parachute Regiment, were themselves not able to maintain the pace during the Falklands campaign?

And the reason given for this unexpected occurrence is the inability to maintain a high-protein diet?

NO! Other reasons are to blame.

* The cadre was unaccustomed to intense physical exertions WHILE WEARING GEAR AND CARRYING FIGHTING LOAD OR ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT!

And perhaps EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY:

* FEAR from the presence of danger on the battlefield engendered physical weakness among the cadre.

The involuntary flow of chemicals [adrenaline] in the body that occurs when one is subjected to a situation of great danger is good in the short term - - but is bad in the long term. The body can become weakened and unable to perform physical activity that is ordinarily routine.

[those American troops wading ashore at Omaha Beach, D-Day, took, in some instances, three hours to cover several hundred years of beach while carrying an eighty pound load. A distance they had trained to cover in less than a minute while NOT UNDER FIRE! Those men, sea-sick, sodden wet, scared, just collapsed where they stood and could not move forward - - from no fault of their own!!]

American troops currently trying to chase the Taliban in the mountains of Afghan, are well advised to shed as much load as possible and go "lean". Carry the minimum of fighting load and that is that.

When I see the photos from the latest U.S. Marine offensive in Afghan, the first and primary thought that enters my mind is: "how heavily loaded down are those troops!!"

I know this is easy for me to say - - but if the U.S. military intends to fight AND DEFEAT the Taliban, the stripped down soldier is only way to go. If the American fighting man has to be cold, hungry, be thirsty and carefully husband his ammo, that is the soldiery way!! I don't see anything else succeeding. I know - easy to say, but that is how I see it!

Everyone on active duty reading this post, if possible, please obtain and read the famous pamphlet by the General S.L.A. Marshall: "The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation (Paperback)"

And from a comment to the pamphlet by Marshall:

"Anyone who leads troops and has not read this book should be dismissed from the service, and anyone who does not reread it every two years should be put in charge of nothing more challenging than changing the marquee at the base theater. Unfortunately my own experience has led me to believe that it remains unread by many who consider themselves professional soldiers"

coolbert.

Fitness II.

This is coolbert:

"'go-to-war' mobility that needs to be at 4-7 mph-level with useful combat load in hand if we are to be a world-class mobile infantry force that can out-maneuver irregulars on the modern non-linear battlefield."

Here with selected extracts from a web site article with the title of: "FITNESS SHOULD BE COMBAT-ORIENTED"

It is intuitively understood - - by even the most casual of observers - - that soldiers, to properly perform their mission, must maintain a certain level of physical fitness. It is generally recognized too, that there exists three distinct levels of physical fitness, as found in militaries throughout the world.

* A general level of fitness that all soldiers must adhere to.

* An enhanced level of fitness for combat arms troops.

* An even more advanced level of fitness for those troops that perform special operations missions.

Recognizing at all times that the American soldier carries a LOAD into battle. Depending upon the situation, a load consisting of either the:

* Fighting load. A standard load borne by ALL soldiers, regardless of duty and mission, consisting of the uniform with helmet and boots, load bearing equipment [web belt, suspenders, full canteen, two ammo pouches, first aid kit, entrenching tool, rifle with four loaded magazines [120 rounds], bayonet, four hand grenades. The fighting load normally encumbering the troop with thirty five pounds of gear.

* Existence load. Anything carried in excess of the fighting load. A backpack with shelter half, rations, sleeping bag, etc. The two loads [fighting, existence] combined not weighing more than sixty five to seventy pounds AT A MINIMUM!

The current regimen of U.S. Army physical training [PT] does NOT properly prepare the combat arms troop for combat? PT done while wearing gym shorts, a "tee" shirt, and running shoes is not adequate.

Chasing after an irregular combat foe, such as the Taliban, through the mountains of Afghan, requires a much more deliberate and pronounced fitness program. It is necessary for the troop to accustom themselves to rigorous physical effort - - ALL THE WHILE WEARING COMBAT UNIFORM AND GEAR!!

"COMBAT PT TRAINING"

"Instead of running around in shorts we could do PT in the actual BDU uniform and LBE that we will use in combat. While ruck marching for time":

* "Carry a stretcher with a designated Soldier on it and rotate during the march use rigid and non-rigid litters"
* "Carry 5 gallon water cans" [a two-man buddy team carrying the 5 gallon "jerry" can of water in addition to their combat load.]
* "Push a HMMWV simulating a disabled vehicle"
* "Sandbag vehicles for technical skill/upper body strength"
* "Tow a 120mm Heavy Mortar a distance (U.S. Army Ranger 3-man squad towed a 716 pound mortar for 30 miles"

This too, speed marching, is an excellent technique for combat arms troops to prepare for the rigors of combat? Can be done with uniform and boots to begin with, adding progressive amounts of gear as warranted?

"Speed Marching - - the basic technique is an alteration of pace between running and marching."

March a mile at quick time, run a mile, alternate until the desired distance achieved.

Here is an excellent YouTube video showing British Royal Marine Commandos practicing speed marching.

"Speed marches gave maximum development to lungs and legs . . . On one occasion during the training in speed marching, the Rangers [U.S.] flew across ten miles in eighty-seven minutes"

coolbert.

Fitness I.

This is coolbert:

Indian clubs, a fitness regimen - - now enjoying a renaissance as the latest and greatest fitness fad? Originally having a military origin - - and before that a traditional and millennium old [?] form of exercise as used by wrestlers of the Indian sub-continent

"Indian Clubs: The Next Fitness Craze?"

"At the end of the 18th Century, British military officers stationed in India were impressed by the strength and fitness of the Indian police and soldiers. The British discovered that the Indians’ excellent physical condition was based on training with a variety of clubs. The training was traditional, based on centuries of practice."

"The British army decided to adopt Indian Club training as part of their physical regimen in the early 19th Century. However, they modified the training to concentrate on the light-weight clubs for flexibility and quickness."

Indian clubs, a fitness regimen, at one time used by the British Army, and NOW SURPRISINGLY SO ENJOYING AN AMAZING COMEBACK - - AMONG THE RANKS OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY!!

"Army Reserve physical training looks to the past"

"War clubs . . . date back 5000 years as part of warrior training. They were an Olympic event until the 1930's and first came to [the] states in middle 1800's from India. The clubs stress precision and can help with training in other areas such as martial arts, marksmanship, swimming or climbing."

Troops of the British Indian Army were in many cases superior to their English counterparts of the period? The Japanese Colonel Tsuji rated the British Indian Army troop as one notch above the English soldier in terms of "fighting ability"! In part, this was due to just plain ordinary superior physical fitness?

coolbert.

Pavel.

This is coolbert:

In previous blog entries, I have stated that in the Soviet special operations/commando/ranger units, spetsnaz, according to various sources, the standard physical fitness [PT] requirement called for a man, wearing an eight [8] kilogram armored plate strapped to the chest [a SAPI-like armor plate], to be able to do sixteen pull-ups. This was a MINIMUM!!??

[The Soviet/Russian armor plate was not ceramic, it was armor plate steel??]

According to the man who purportedly conducted and supervised the PT of the spetsnaz troops, this standard is actually too low?

Pavel Tsatsouline. Soviet, now Russian, expatriate living, working, and thriving in the U.S.? Expounds upon the PT methods and techniques used to train the spetsnaz troop to a high level of physical aptitude. Novel ideas not previously seen or appreciated in the U.S. prior to the emigration of Pavel and other ex-Soviets/Russians like him.

"consider that in Soviet Spetsnaz units the minimum standard was 18 pull-ups wearing 25lb body armor! Pavel Tsatsouline takes it a bit further (as he did with his men in Russia) stating that as an operator you should shoot for 10 reps with 54lbs of weight"

THE GOAL FOR AN "OPERATOR" [from that I take it to mean a troop actually involved in special operations, that weight consisting of all impedimenta being worn] was much greater?

Here from an interview with Pavel. Thanks to Girevnik on-line magazine [GM]:

"Exclusive Interview with the "Evil Russian" Pavel Tsatsouline"

GM: "How do you train soldiers differently than civilians? For example, how would the training of a soldier compare to the training of an athlete?"

Pavel: "Let us use strength as an example. An athlete can afford to be strong due to large muscles but a soldier or a Marine cannot. In wartime and even during exercises muscle rapidly melts away, thanks to malnutrition, sleep deprivation, and stress. A military man must gain strength by retraining his nervous system to contract his, even shrunken, muscles harder."

In the case of spetsnaz troops, we may be talking here about two distinct groupings of soldiers.

The first being the "professionals". Athletes of Olympic caliber who are full-time competitors as well as CAREER soldiers. Holding significant military rank in many cases, their development and ability at a competitive sport and their military skills be more or less intertwined as a daily routine for years!!

The second group of spetsnaz troops Pavel may have in mind is the two-year conscript, trained in a rigorous manner, BUT NOT A FULL-TIME PROFESSIONAL CAREER SOLDIER.

But, as a conscript, specially screened and selected in advance for obvious physical and mental attributes, also politically correct from the-at-the-time standpoint of the Communist party, etc.

[Suvorov claims that out of every 10,000 conscripts, only TEN would be found to be adequate for duty as a special purpose troop within the Soviet scheme of things!!]

A conscript, already perhaps of imposing physical stature and ability, WHO ONLY NEEDS THE PROPER TRAINING, ENCOURAGEMENT, PUSHING AS NECESSARY, TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED MINIMUM PT GOALS AND THEN WAY BEYOND THAT IF POSSIBLE.

The raw material is already there for Pavel to train, a very high level of physical development, military oriented, achievable is relatively short order.

"In wartime and even during exercises muscle rapidly melts away, thanks to malnutrition, sleep deprivation, and stress" - - Pavel T.

That stress Pavel speaks about is primarily FEAR! Fear of being killed or wounded or captured that WEAKENS! NO AMOUNT OF PT CAN PROPERLY CONDITION THE SOLDIER TO OVERCOME THE LESSENING OF PHYSICAL ABILITY THAT OCCURS IN THE LONG-TERM PRESENCE OF FEAR!! Our bodies, involuntarily, releases adrenaline and other chemicals that provide a boost for enhanced physical activity in the short-term, but also weakens the body in the long-term.

coolbert.