Do you think physical requirements should be mandatory for certain jobs?

[Vic Winters]

I'm speaking of jobs like fire fighters, police and similar professions. While they do have entrance exams that test physical ability for these jobs, after that initial test, there is no retesting at a later point. Personally, I think in physically demanding jobs such as these, you should have to be retested at least once every 3 years.

What are your thoughts?

[FrizzleFry]

As long as they're doing they job well, They can be as big/small as they want.

[Aaron Saunders]

Absolutely.

Firefighters in general keep in pretty good shape. Eg, there's a reason there's a fireman calendar that chicks buy ALL the time (my girlfriend gets it anually.)

The main job with such requirements that I see getting lax are police...I definitely think there should be minimum fitness requirements for continued street service, although there's not much sense making sure a 55 year old desk jockey is proficient in chaotic shooting situations and subduing a subject unarmed.

[Vic Winters]

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

there's not much sense making sure a 55 year old desk jockey is proficient in chaotic shooting situations and subduing a subject unarmed.

I agree. Physical testing should only be for those in the field. If you're just doing paper work and inspections, there is no need.

Frizzle, I understand what you're saying, but I personally think such testing would be a good way to make sure they continue to do their jobs well. EMTs and Life Guards have to be re certified for CPR, dentists and doctors are expected to keep up with the latest medicines and procedures. It's general upkeep that ensures your proficiency. An out of shape police officer is going to have a harder time subduing a criminal than one in good physical condition.

[Steve]

As a former paramedic that had to leave the field due to more than one back injury...

Equal rights is great and all that but when you have to haul a 400 pound diabetic off the floor at 3 am...when you where sound asleep at at 2:50 am...the very LAST thing you need is a skinny little 105 pound girl on the other end of the stretcher.

Yea, she was tested and able to drag a 160 pound dummy 50 yards but, that's the center of the bell curve not reality.

It's not safe for the partner or the patient.

That may not be politically correct but sometimes reality has a nasty habit of getting in the way of what should be.

BTW, I'm up at 5:30 am because I was awakened by back pain from my previous career.

[Tim Cole]

To my knowledge, these positions DO test annually. I remember hearing cheeze bitch about it

[Vorago]

If I see what kind of fat policemen you sometimes see wandering around...

And then there are the intervention guys. You don't want to **** with those guys

[Barkless Dog]

Like 300 pound flight attendants?

[ducknturtle]

The answer is obviously yes. The fact that we even have to ask shows that political correctness is strangling society

[Neener]

I too absolutely agree that physical requirements should be mandatory for firefighters, police officers, and paramedics before getting into one of those careers. But also, if someone isn't physically able to do there job, they'll figure it out sooner or later and either become physically able to perform or move on to something else. Hopefully before they hurt them self or someone else. Been there.

Originally Posted by Barkless Dog

Like 300 pound flight attendants?

Or 300 pound Hooters waitresses.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Of course there should be, otherwise:

[Bard2dbone]

Originally Posted by Steve

As a former paramedic that had to leave the field due to more than one back injury...

Equal rights is great and all that but when you have to haul a 400 pound diabetic off the floor at 3 am...when you where sound asleep at at 2:50 am...the very LAST thing you need is a skinny little 105 pound girl on the other end of the stretcher.

Yea, she was tested and able to drag a 160 pound dummy 50 yards but, that's the center of the bell curve not reality.

It's not safe for the partner or the patient.

That may not be politically correct but sometimes reality has a nasty habit of getting in the way of what should be.

BTW, I'm up at 5:30 am because I was awakened by back pain from my previous career.

Wow. It's scary how much of that post I could have written.

I quit working the street because I couldn't pay my bills on street paramedic pay with only a full time extra job. I ended up just going to only the second job and working a little overtime. The end result? I work fewer hours for more money. I can pay more bills and, since it's a childrens hospital, the average patient I lift here is about sixty pounds, in stead of three hundred.

But I don't get to really save lives anymore. I miss that.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

There should be annual physical fitness testing for these jobs and in my experience there normally is. I have my next fitness testing in October.

[cheesemonkey]

Originally Posted by Vic Winters

I'm speaking of jobs like fire fighters, police and similar professions. While they do have entrance exams that test physical ability for these jobs, after that initial test, there is no retesting at a later point. Personally, I think in physically demanding jobs such as these, you should have to be retested at least once every 3 years.

What are your thoughts?

Oncer Every Year...

[BellBottomBlues]

There's a reason why you don't see fat marines...

[BellBottomBlues]

I think everyone should have to pass a physical requirements test, barring any physical disability, so that way people would stop complaining about obsesity.

[5andFretless]

Originally Posted by BellBottomBlues

There's a reason why you don't see fat marines...

Or any member of the Special Forces, or most of the entire Military for that matter.

[BellBottomBlues]

Originally Posted by 5andFretless

Or any member of the Special Forces, or most of the entire Military for that matter.

I see fat USNG and US Army personnel all the time. I don't have much contact with the airforce or the navy.

While they all have PT requirements up to a certain level, many personnel don't have to do it if they've got a job like truck driver or clerk. Marines have a body fat % they can't go over (10 or 15, not sure off hand) regardless of their job, and that is why you'll never see a fat marine.

[5andFretless]

Originally Posted by BellBottomBlues

While they all have PT requirements up to a certain level, many personnel don't have to do it if they've got a job like truck driver or clerk.

That is incorrect for active duty personnel. Everyone has the same requirements. Each branch of the armed forces tweaks their requirements a little, but they are all compareable for regular active duty. The only difference base is for sex and age, and that uses a nationally recognized scaling factor.

Reserves are a different story. One weekend a month/2 weeks a year is not enough time to enforce the standard. When they are activated they fall under the same requirements. It is up to the individual commands to enforce the requiements. In my experience (US Submarine Force) it is pretty uniformly and tightlty enforced.

That is not to say there aren't exceptions. Like anything else there are medical waivers in the military for lots of things. Back pain is the most common and piss people off the most. Say you have it, and it is nearly impossible for a doctory to determine that you are using it as an excuse to get out of PT.

I was the SUBTRAFAC NORVA PT Coordinator for 3 years. 90 minutes of exercise from 6 am to 7:30 five days a week, year round. I have made the live of 1000's of reservists miserable and I can safely say I was one of the most hated people on NOB.

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Originally Posted by 5andFretless

That is incorrect for active duty personnel. Everyone has the same requirements. Each branch of the armed forces tweaks their requirements a little, but they are all compareable for regular active duty. The only difference base is for sex and age, and that uses a nationally recognized scaling factor.

I'm sure you guys must have universality of service (or equivalent) whereby every regular force member must pass the basic fitness test on a yearly basis. For us, the express test is the minimum test and some other units use other fitness tests as well, such as the battle fitness test and Cooper test.