FederalDaily.com > Army to Allow Extra Pounds for Female Soldiers

FederalDaily - November 7, 2006

Army to Allow Extra Pounds for Female Soldiers

Saying it’s not fatness but fitness that counts, the Army has revised its weight standards for the first time in 17 years, allowing an extra 5 to 19 pounds for most female soldiers. The revised Army Regulation 600-9—The Army Weight Control Program—establishes a new guidance for body-fat standards within the Army. It was first implemented Oct. 2, but Army leaders decided to give active-duty and reserve-component soldiers a six-month transitional period until the March 31 mandatory effective date. Recently, an increasing number of female soldiers were failing the weight portion of the test, even though they were well under the maximum body-fat percentage allowed for their age group, said Hank Minitrez, public affairs officer for the Army G-1 Human Resources Policy Directorate. A team of Army and civilian physicians and scientists developed a new screening weight table for maximum weights for female soldiers. Furthermore, instead of being measured at the wrist, forearm, neck and hips, females will now be taped around the abdomen, neck and hips. “Measuring the abdomen will give a more accurate portrayal of a female soldier’s body-fat percentage,” Minitrez said. “We don’t want fat soldiers, we want fit soldiers.” To see more, go to: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=9816

Lawmaker Questions Resignation

A House Democrat is seeking information from the Department of Labor (DOL) over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of the executive director of the secretariat of the Commission for Labor Cooperation (CLC), an international organization created under the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation. Mark Knouse, a Pittsburgh-based lobbyist appointed by Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to serve at the CLC, resigned suddenly before the end of his three-year term, after an investigation raised questions about his alleged use of government money to pay for lobbying for his old clients, said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., on Nov. 3. “Secretary Chao appointed a crony to lead a key labor commission,” said Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “Chao’s nomination of Knouse in the first place is itself enough cause for concern. But even more troubling is what Knouse did after taking office.” To see the Miller press release, go to: www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ed31_democrats/rel110306.html.

Military Newsweeklies Call For Rumsfeld Ouster

In an unblinking editorial, four military newsweeklies carried a call on Nov. 6 for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The four weekly newspapers—the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times, and Marine Corps Times—are not official organs of the U.S. military. They’re published by a private corporation, the Military Times Media Group, which is owned by the Gannett Corp. But the papers are read almost entirely by military personnel. A copy of the editorial appeared on the Web site of the Army Times over the weekend. The editorial criticized the administration for painting an all-too-rosy picture of the war in Iraq and questioned President Bush’s pledge to keep Rumsfeld past the mid-term elections. “This is a mistake,” the unsigned editorial said. “Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops and with the public at large.” The editorial placed blame for failures in Iraq with Rumsfeld, but said “it will be the troops who bear its brunt. Donald Rumsfeld must go.” When asked about the editorial Nov. 4, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow told reporters that the editorial “gives the false impression” that “there is a reaction against the president by military personnel. This is by editorial writers who work in Arlington, Va.”