The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) is one of the essential elements of training owing to its ability to determine the endurance of a Soldier and their preservation of a predetermined level of fitness. It is important to note that APFT offers a measure of an individual`s upper and lower body strength and endurance towards particular tasks. In this case, the Soldiers should undergo physical tests while managing the weight of their bodies, in order to avoid scenarios where this can end up becoming a hindrance to their normal activities . It also becomes increasingly important to prepare them by ascertaining that each individual takes the APFT. When a Soldier fails the APFT test, they cannot advance. Currently, many inconsistencies are arising, such as situations where Soldiers do not face the consequences of failing the test.
Purpose statement – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ethical issues of leaders failing to administer penalties of failing the Army physical fitness test (APFT) and the inability to remove these Soldiers or they do not encounter consequences of failing and ultimately diminishing good order and discipline within the unit. Some examples of this malpractice range from irregularly assigning underqualified Soldiers to units to exercising excessive authority on subordinates whose duty is to manage the Army`s APFT.
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Root Cause
The most common root cause that drives the ethical dilemmas on the leniency being extended to APFT failures is the great urge to make numbers for missions, which is a violation of the ethical lenses of virtues ( Boykin & Rice, 2019 ). Some of the leaders encounter the dilemma of eliminating failures, yet they ought to have a sufficient number of personnel to take part in the missions established for their forces. This is unacceptable since it leads to the consensus implying that training has little significance in the Army. Commanders, on the other hand, file paperwork seeking to retain the Soldiers who have failed the APFT after getting tired of spending countless hours working with them in a bid to ensure that they pass the test. What they, however, fail to realize is that if a Soldier quits, it is almost impossible to do enough with them, they are bound to be less resourceful to their unit. Quitting means that the Soldier does not deserve to be in the Army since they are not in a position to manage the challenges posed to them in light of issues bound to emerge. Managing a small force of great performers is more comfortable compared to having to worry about a number of individuals who are finding it hard to cope since they were not successful in their APFT (Lopez, 2015). Based on the ethical lenses of outcomes, no Soldier is supposed to be enabled to hide from repercussions of failing to meet the desired standards of training. Otherwise, they can derail the others while partaking in real combat.
Impacts on the Force
Ethical fading and dilemmas have impacts on the force even when leaders continually rely on the idea of increasing numbers by allowing those who have failed their APFT to remain in the force. First, this creates the idea that maintaining fitness is not essential and hence results in constraints. It is exceedingly possible that Army trainees will not put in as much effort as they require to since they feel that even if they fail to do so, there is an opportunity of making it to the next stage, which is a clear violation of the ethical lenses of Rules. Self-deception is the first step towards ethical fading (DeGroot et al., 2019) . Admittedly, it is tough to correct self-deception since once a person has become personally convinced that they deserve to be in the force despite not qualifying, this derides the moral principles on which the aspect of APFT thrives. It is highly possible that after a predetermined duration, Soldiers might be joining various units without any prior training. When the leaders allow someone to move to the next stage though they were unsuccessful, others feel they are also worthy of skipping that critical step of APFT training. The resultant impact is a new force with no dexterity to cope with the challenges posed to them.
One need not necessarily be a military leader in order for them to endanger the success of a military mission ( DeGroot et al., 2019 ). The lowest ranking member of the Army can contribute to such endangerment, and this results from inconsistencies such as allowing underqualified Soldiers to become part of the force despite failing the APFT. Unethical conduct costs the Army their credibility, hence, leading to the common perception that it is easy for anyone to join the Army. The ethical lenses of virtues have to be observed; otherwise, acceptance of practices that have no ethical bearing may lead others not to conceive wrongdoing in any undertakings that they may have ( DeGroot et al., 2019 ). As a result, it is also possible for the Army personnel to promote disdain in other activities within the Army. Also, the lack of military discipline further endangers the missions by the leaders in various units. Discipline is what helps in building the character of individuals and fashioning them to become responsible people in their duties, yet this discipline begins with the establishment of proper ethical behavior. The various exercises and routines established in the military, such as APFT, contribute towards the engendering of discipline in the force. Such tests, therefore, ought to experience the required degree of seriousness.
Army personnel performs their duties according to their ethic. Doing this results in the reinforcement of trust within the Army ( Thelen, Koppenhaver, Gill & Shaffer, 2017 ).
It is, therefore, possible that failure to reinforce the required standards of acceptance after the APFT test will water down the effect of the ethical rule lens in the force. As a result, individuals in the Army are capable of failing to perform their duties effectively. Without the driving force to do something, it’s possible for someone not to establish the required level of zeal when partaking in an activity. The resultant impact is underperformance in the Army, which is capable of being detrimental to the force.
Further, the aspect of honorable service occurs by underpinning the standards of excellence required for every person who takes part in the APFT ( Thelen et al., 2017 ). Failure to do so is a dishonorable and unethical act, in which case it is illegal for any supervisor or leader to irregularly recruit people into the Army despite their well-defined failure in the APFT. It is also possible that Army personnel who accomplished their APFT may feel inferior or underappreciated when others who were unsuccessful become recruited. Those who succeeded have put in a lot of work and effort to see to it that they attain this great accomplishment, and so should anyone else who seeks to excel and join their unit.
Recommendations. The Army can eliminate the leniency they are extending to APFT failures by taking into consideration the three ethical lenses: Rules, Outcomes, and Virtues. Rules relate to principle-based ethics. In this case, a solution occurs in the establishment of laws and standards of regulations. Based on this ethical lens, there are stricter rules which befit higher standards than the ones presently available. These are standards that are associated with the people in charge of Army fitness — for instance, the first sergeant, platoon sergeant, and the commander (Lopez, 2015). Higher standards of excellence are likely to ensure that only the best get to go to school. The idea is resourceful since it is capable of eliminating the limitations posed to the first sergeant, whereby they work countless times with individuals who have repeatedly failed the APFT.
The commanders also have, in many instances, forced the sergeants to file large volumes of paperwork as they seek to reinforce leniency. In this case, they make exceptions to retain the failures despite the efforts of sergeants seeking to ensure that only those who satisfy their endurance bypassing the APFT are allowed to proceed to their respective units (Thelen et al., 2017) . It is crucial to minimize the powers of such commanders who seek to make the work for sergeants difficult. Also, discipline emerges as an essential facet in this scenario, whereby the laws and policies set out or deserve a high degree of seriousness. Commanders will have to refrain from accommodating less-than-stellar trainees until a time whereby they are capable of passing the APFT. Alternatively, the establishment of policies dictating the minimum number of times that one can attempt the APFT is a resourceful incentive.
Outcomes and consequence-based ethics are synonymous. In this ethical lens, accommodation of a decision by the army that offers the most excellent deal of benefit is best. First, if it becomes impossible to fix the actions of a Soldier, the solution is to eliminate them if they have attained the maximum number of trials. Failure to do this is likely to result in a situation where those who have not fully grasped the veracity of training that one ought to have attained to be part of the Army will cause blunders. When unqualified Soldiers are later sent to the Army PME schools after failing to pass the APFT legitimately, it is quite difficult for them to hide from the resultant consequences of their actions (Lopez, 2015). They end up in highly intensive activities, which are quite difficult for them to manage.
There is no doubt that Soldiers have to meet the standards required for them to be part of the army. As a result, there should be no expectations for a reprieve to be provided at any point in time. Failure to do those will result in detrimental consequences (Lopez, 2015). If, for instance, an untrained Soldier or one who does not succeed in their APFT goes to the battlefield and teamed up with a unit, and their incompetence is bound to cost the entire Army. They can contribute to the death of someone in their unit due to an error they are likely to make. This is chiefly the reason why it is becoming increasingly dangerous for such Army personnel to get a clean bill of health and accepted in a unit of other well-skilled individuals. Those who have excelled fully only excel best under conditions where they work together with other likeminded individuals within their unit. Any leader flouting the rules available ought to leave the force entirely.
Virtue based ethics are also capable of providing a valuable solution to the current dilemma facing the Army. Leaders are under the obligation of questioning what is likely to happen if they go against the prescribed code of ethics in the force. It is crucial for them to envision the repercussions likely to result from their actions and how this might affect their own families (Lopez, 2015). This, therefore, concentrates primarily on personal reflections. For example, instead of clearing underqualified training, the leaders could opt to reinforce more viable solutions such as proposing the adoption of nutritionists and trainers who have the required tenacity to offer the proper support to weak trainees before taking the APFT. This is a move that is capable of guaranteeing better results and also save such leaders from unfavorable consequences.
To further elaborate on the above premise, recruiting specialists is an indication that the right level of seriousness for Army fitness is being observed. It has also emerged that up to 40 percent of Soldiers are overweight and, hence, the reason why it becomes increasingly difficult for them to succeed in their APFT (Lopez, 2015). The ethical code of conduct requires that every person in the Army ensures that they fit the acceptable standards in order for them to be part of the Army. This implies that anyone wishing to join has to satisfy the required standards, and only then can they become members of a unit. If someone is consistently becoming overweight in each successive trial for the APFT, it could be best to eliminate them.
Conclusion
To sum it up, this paper discusses the ethical issues of leaders failing to administer penalties of failing the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). Some examples of this malpractice range from irregularly assigning underqualified Soldiers to units to exercising excessive authority on subordinates whose duty is to manage the Army`s APFT. The recruitment of Soldiers who are not sufficiently qualified results in a situation where they fail to fit into a unit, and it is also possible for them to cause problems. The ethical lenses of Rules, Consequences, and Virtues, therefore, have to be adhered to effectively. Failure to do so is tantamount to raising an Army with low standards of performance.
References
Boykin, G. L., & Rice, V. J. (2019, July). Physical Readiness is More Than Physical Fitness: Relationships between Army Physical Fitness Test Scores and Self-reports of Physical and Psychological Fitness. In International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (pp. 176-183). Springer, Cham.
DeGroot, D., Langan, K., Sitler, C., Penberthy, S., Hauret, K., & Gehrich, A. (2019). Physical Fitness Decrements in the Postpartum Us Army Servicewoman: 1038: Board# 272 May 29 2: 00 PM-3: 30 PM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise , 51 (6), 275.
Lopez, T. C. (2015, May 5). Soldiers take a tough stance on physical fitness test failures . https://www.army.mil/article/147940/soldiers_take_tough_stance_on_physical_fitness_test_failures
Thelen, M. D., Koppenhaver, S. L., Gill, N. W., & Shaffer, S. W. (2017). Effects of Technique-Focused Training in Conjunction with Physical Readiness Training on Army Physical Fitness Test Performance. US Army Medical Department Journal , 79-84.
