Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services Articles of Interest: 5-11 March 2016 DACOWITS IN THE NEWS 1. 2016 DACOWITS Committee Members Announced (8 Mar) DoD Press Release The Department of Defense announced today the induction of three new members to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). 2. Retired Female Four-Star Appointed to Defense Advisory Committee (8 Mar) DoD News, By Defense Media Activity For the first time, a female four-star general was appointed to serve on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, according to a DoD news release issued today. RECRUITMENT & RETENTION 3. Army increases visibility of female recruiters; seeks more for the job (6 Mar) Army Times, By Kyle Jahner The Army will continue its push for more female recruiters, but this summer it will also work to leverage the ones it already has. 4. Army recruiter charged with sending explicit pic to teen (7 Mar) Army Times, By Kevin Lilley Police say a New Jersey-based recruiter sent an image of his [genitals] to a 17-year-old girl via the media-sharing application Snapchat late last year, then took apart and threw away his cellphone in an attempt to destroy the evidence. 5. Women’s History Month Webcast Focuses on Mentorship (10 Mar) DoD News, By Shannon Collins The U.S. Office of Personnel Management hosted a mentoring webcast today in recognition of Women’s History Month, focusing on how mentorship affects ability to meet the mission. EMPLOYMENT & INTEGRATION 6. Other services could overhaul the tape test. Why not the Air Force? (6 Mar) Air Force Times, By Oriana Pawlyk The Air Force is standing firmly behind their tape test, even as airmen for years have complained about its effectiveness and the other services are reviewing the controversial test. 7. Sailors Face More Lenient Body Fat Rules (6 Mar) Associated Press, By Julie Watson The Navy is giving another chance to thousands of sailors who otherwise would be kicked out for repeatedly failing their physical fitness tests because they exceeded body fat limits. 8. The Pentagon Is Finally Designing Combat Gear for Women (8 Mar) War is Boring, By Joseph Jaafari As women begin to serve in all combat roles across every branch of the military, the Pentagon is making new efforts to ensure that their troops’ fertility — and prospect of having kids — is intact, something former service members weren’t afforded. 1 9. Women leaders drive change in the defense industry (8 Mar) Bloomberg Government, By Robert Levinson While many Americans focus on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s attempt to shatter the world’s highest glass ceiling by becoming the first woman U.S. president, other women have already broken into what have long been seen as the ultimate boys’ clubs: the military and defense industries. 10. Navy's new body fat rules start now with spring PFA (9 Mar) Navy Times, By Meghann Myers Now that it's time for the spring PFA, commands will be putting new rules announced last year into effect — eased body fat rules, but fewer allowed failures before a sailor is booted out. It also means random body fat checks that can land a sailor onto the mandatory PT squad. 11. Lone female competitor embodies Warrior Ethos at 364th ESC BWC (9 Mar) DVIDS, By Capt. Nicole Abeyta Instead of seeing the extremely physically challenging event and her gender an obstacle, [Spc. Christine] Holzwarth said she saw the Best Warrior Competition as an opportunity to showcase her Army training and her ability to adapt and learn. 12. 1st women could start Navy SEAL training in August (10 Mar) The San Diego Union-Tribune, By Jeanette Steele Pentagon details how combat jobs will open to women, including Marines as early as April 13. DoD Gives Final Go-Ahead to Open All Military Jobs to Women (10 Mar) DoD News, By Karen Parrish After “exceptionally thorough work” by all of the services, the U.S. military is authorized to begin integrating women across all occupations and specialties immediately, according to a Defense Department statement released today. 14. Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook on Secretary Carter’s Approval of Women in Service Review Implementation Plans (10 Mar) DoD Press Release Three months after his historic decision to open all combat positions to women, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter today formally approved the final implementation plans prepared by the military services and U.S. Special Operations Command. This action allows them to carry out their plans to fully integrate women throughout the armed forces. 15. Moving Out on Women-in-Service (10 Mar) Medium, By Secretary of Defense Ash Carter How and why the U.S. military is now opening up the last combat positions to women 16. Air Force: 'No quotas' as last combat jobs opened to women (10 Mar) Air Force Times, By Stephen Losey The first female Tactical Air Control Party airman could potentially be trained and assigned to an operational unit this year, the Air Force said in its formal plan for integrating women into the last six male-only combat jobs. 17. Army's 1st female grunts, tankers should arrive at their units in 2017 (10 Mar) Army Times, By Michelle Tan The Army will start training women for combat arms jobs later this year, but the first group of female infantry, armor or special operations soldiers are not expected to arrive at their units until 2017 at the earliest. 18. How big is opposition to women in combat units among Marines? This report explains. (10 Mar) The Washington Post, By Dan Lamothe A survey of nearly 54,000 members of the Marine Corps found that two out of three male Marines and one out of three female Marines were opposed to opening all combat jobs to women, underscoring the depth of opposition the service faces as it is required to begin fully integrating them this year. 19. Marines gear up to train more women now that all combat jobs open (10 Mar) Marine Corps Times, By Jeff Schogol The Marine Corps is getting ready for a potential surge of women in recruit training and military occupational specialties schools now that the service’s gender integration plan has been approved, Marine Corps Times has learned. 2 WELL-BEING & TREATMENT 20. Military Update: Force of the Future might survive attack on its architect (6 Mar) The Gazette, By Tom Philpott Legislation is sought to allow 14 days of paternity leave and to expand adoption leave, too. Child care service hours are to be available at least 14 hours a day. Installations must have rooms for nursing service members. The services also are to begin to pay for egg and sperm freezing for active-duty service members to protect their reproductive options in case of injury. 21. Veterans suicide: 'We must and will do more,' VA says (9 Mar) Navy Times, By Patricia Kime Veterans Affairs Department officials said Tuesday they will make several changes to the department's suicide prevention programs as part of ongoing efforts to reverse the tide of suicides among military veterans. WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH / WOMEN VETERANS 22. Former Marine muscles her way to $10K on 'Broken Skull Challenge' (5 Mar) Marine Corps Times, By Kevin Lilley Reality-show winner, CrossFit instructor weighs in on fitness plans, pullups (she can do 20-plus), and more 23. Carter Salutes Women’s Contributions on International Women’s Day (8 Mar) DoD News, Defense Media Agency The Defense Department “must continue to be open and inclusive as we strive to bring in America's best talent, including from our extraordinary community of women, who make up more than 50 percent of the American population,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said today in his written message in observance of International Women’s Day. 24. WASP Pursued Love of Flying, Fought for Women Vets’ Recognition (9 Mar) DoD News, By Shannon Collins Women have been graduating from the Air Force Academy since 1980, and flying in combat missions since Operation Desert Storm, but before them were the World War II Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs. 1. 2016 DACOWITS Committee Members Announced (8 Mar) DoD Press Release IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Operations Release No: NR-073-16 March 8, 2016 The Department of Defense announced today the induction of three new members to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS). DACOWITS, established during the Korean War in 1951 by Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall, is an independent advisory committee that provides the department with advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to the recruitment and retention, treatment, employment, integration, and well-being of highly qualified professional women in the Armed Forces. Previously comprised of 17 members, the DACOWITS charter authorizes a total of 20 committee members. The incoming members are as follows: Retired Marine Corps Colonel John Boggs, Phoenix, Arizona Retired Air Force Major General Sharon Dunbar, Alexandria, Virginia Retired Air Force General Janet Wolfenbarger, Dayton, Ohio DACOWITS members include prominent civilian women and men representing a distribution of demography, academia, industry, 3 public service and other professions. Selection is on the basis of experience in the military or with women's-related workforce issues. Members are selected for a four-year term, without compensation, to perform a variety of duties including visiting military installations each year, conducting a review and evaluation of current research on military women, and developing an annual report with recommendations on these issues for service leadership and the secretary of defense. More information about DACOWITS can be found at http://dacowits.defense.gov/. http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/685624/2016-dacowits-committee-members- announced?source=GovDelivery 2. Retired Female Four-Star Appointed to Defense Advisory Committee (8 Mar) DoD News, By Defense Media Activity For the first time, a female four-star general was appointed to serve on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, according to a DoD news release issued today. Retired Air Force Gen. Janet C. Wolfenbarger was among three new Secretary of Defense military appointees who joined DACOWITS today during a swearing-in ceremony held at a DACOWITS quarterly business meeting. Also sworn in were retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Sharon K. G. Dunbar and retired Marine Corps Col. John T. Boggs. DACOWITS was established in 1951 and is composed of civilian women and men who are appointed by the defense secretary, the release said. The committee provides advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to the recruitment, retention, treatment, employment, integration, and well-being of highly qualified professional women in the armed forces. DACOWITS recommendations have been instrumental in effecting change to laws and policies pertaining to military women. Wolfenbarger served 35 years in the Air Force. She received her commission in 1980 and was among the first class of women graduates from the U.S. Air Force Academy. She began her career in acquisition as an engineer at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and held a variety of leadership assignments throughout her career, culminating as the commander, Air Force Materiel Command. She was the Air Force’s first female four-star general. "It is truly an honor to be selected to serve on this important committee. I retired last July after serving for 35 years in the United States Air Force. I am thrilled to be afforded the opportunity to continue to serve my nation in this new capacity," Wolfenbarger said. Other Appointees Dunbar was commissioned in 1982 upon graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy. She has served in a variety of acquisition, political-military and personnel positions. Prior to her retirement in 2014, Dunbar was dual-hatted as commander of the Air Force District of Washington and the 320th Air Expeditionary Wing, headquartered at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. She is currently the vice president of human resources for a global aerospace and defense company. As a Marine Corps infantry officer, Boggs has been privileged to command at every level of his military career. He has served in advisory positions on high-level national government staffs and advised general officers and political appointees. Prior to his retirement in 2008, he served as chief of staff of the National Defense University and managed the planning and implementation of daily operations at the world’s largest defense university system and leading institution for producing strategic leaders. He is the founder of a leadership and strategy development business. "It is an honor to be selected to serve on the committee," Boggs said. Highly qualified candidates are selected to serve as DACOWITS committee members on the basis of their experience with the military and with women's workforce issues. The committee provides an annual report to the Secretary of Defense with recommendations based on information gathered through installation visits, business meetings, relevant reports and survey data, and input from individual service members. http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/688086/retired-female-four-star-appointed-to-defense-advisory- committee?source=GovDelivery 4 3. Army increases visibility of female recruiters; seeks more for the job (6 Mar) Army Times, By Kyle Jahner The Army will continue its push for more female recruiters, but this summer it will also work to leverage the ones it already has. Brig. Gen. Donna Martin, deputy commander of recruiting, said Army Recruiting Command will launch a project to ensure a team of female recruiters attends major gatherings and recruiting events. “We are going to have a group of female recruiters go to recruiting events, augmenting recruiters already there,” Martin told Army Times. "They’ll be speaking to women to debunk the myths about serving in the military as a woman." Events could include, for example, such things as college fairs and high school career days. Recruiting command will work to put together a group of five to six female recruiters from the area of the event to ensure women in attendance have someone who can tell them about life in the Army as a woman. The move comes at a time when the Army is opening all jobs, including direct ground combat, to women. Currently women make up 17 percent of the force. As an improving economy makes it more difficult to recruit young people who meet the Army’s requirements, women represent a largely under-tapped resource. The Army believes female recruiters can provide tailored, credible insights to potential female recruits, not to mention an ability to relate to the mothers of all recruits. But female recruiters comprise just 8.6 percent of the Army’s 8,800 recruiters, compared to 14 percent of enlisted soldiers as a whole. “We are working toward increasing the percent of female recruiters by one percent each year,” Martin said. “Some women don’t think they can have an attractive lifestyle," she said. "We want to show that is not true, that they can have an attractive lifestyle, they can get married, they can have children, and basic training is not as hard as they think it is. [Female recruiters can] give them info on what it’s like to be a woman and currently serve in the military.” Defense Secretary Ash Carter addressed one of those issues in late January when he announced a force-wide policy of 12 weeks of maternity leave. That doubled the leave the Army had offered, though the Navy and Marine Corps had upped leave from six to 18 weeks the year before, and had to reduce the benefit. Martin notes that recruiting is competing with other Army fields, such as drill sergeants and Advanced Individual Training instructors, for the limited supply of women. There are no bonuses or tangible incentives to specifically attract female recruiters, but Martin said the experience offers plenty of rewards of its own, including the ability to help "the youth of America” and “make dreams come true.” “We change lives every single day. There’s a story every day out of recruiting command about how we’ve changed the life of a young man or woman. It can be a very rewarding experience,” Martin said. Since the Pentagon's decision to open 220,000 jobs to women force-wide this year, allowing them to take direct ground combat roles, there hasn’t been a rush among women to join combat arms, Martin said. But she doesn’t think that’s the point. To her it’s about giving women choices and changing the military mindset about gender vs. capabilities. She tried to illustrate that point in a recent conversation with mostly male recruiters, she said. “I asked them how many have daughters. … How many of you tell your daughters they can’t do anything?” Martin said. “To a person in that room, they kind of went, ‘huh.’ That’s how I want them to think about the integration of women. How do you want your daughters to be brought up? How do you want your wives to be treated.” http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2016/03/06/army-increases-visibility-female-recruiters-seeks-more- job/81151414/ 5 4. Army recruiter charged with sending explicit pic to teen (7 Mar) Army Times, By Kevin Lilley Police say a New Jersey-based recruiter sent an image of his penis to a 17-year-old girl via the media-sharing application Snapchat late last year, then took apart and threw away his cellphone in an attempt to destroy the evidence. Staff Sgt. Michael McCullough, 29, who has served as a recruiter for three years and had been working out of the Newton recruiting center near Picatinny Arsenal, faces three charges related to endangering a child's welfare, obscenity and evidence tampering, said Greg Mueller, Sussex County’s first assistant prosecutor. McCullough, who lives on-post at the arsenal, received a summons related to those charges Feb. 25 from the Sparta Police Department; his command became aware of the allegations the day before and reassigned him to company headquarters immediately, a spokeswoman from Army Recruiting Command said Wednesday. “I think the facts are not altogether clear yet,” said Thomas Roughneen, McCullough’s lawyer who formerly served with the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He said Thursday that questions remain about whether the alleged victim may have misrepresented her age to his client, or whether she was 18 at the time of the alleged incident. Roughneen also said that McCullough's phone is in possession of law enforcement and there “was no destruction of the phone itself.” The complaint, a copy of which was provided to Army Times by the prosecutor’s office, charges McCullough with “deleting information from a cell phone, disassembling it, and throwing it in the garbage.” Local law enforcement is investigating whether any prospective recruits or other individuals received similar messages, Mueller said. Army Criminal Investigation Command is assisting with that investigation, he said, as well as conducting its own. Recruiting Command “takes any allegations very seriously and ensures individuals under investigation are not on recruiting duty while an investigation is ongoing,” spokeswoman Kelli Bland said Wednesday via email. “Recruiters are the face of the Army, and we expect them to serve honorably while representing the force.” The name of the girl and that of the school she attends have not been released, but a statement from the school published by local media states that school officials became aware of "inappropriate" contact between a recruiter and a student, and "the issue was forwarded to the Sparta Police and from there to the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office." Army officials, including those in leadership positions within Army Recruiting Command, “have contacted the individual and her family to offer their assistance and support,” Bland said. The Snapchat photo- and video-sharing application deletes shared material from the receiver’s phone after a pre-set time, but the data can be saved through various methods, including screen shots. McCullough was released without bond and was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, but the hearing was delayed because of a previous Army-ordered medical appointment, Roughneen said. No new date has been scheduled. “From what I know of Staff Sgt. McCullough, he has had an extremely impressive career, and what he may or may not have done, I hope will be given due consideration in light of his really stellar 13 or so years serving as a recruiter and as a deployed soldier,” Roughneen said. McCullough deployed for a year to Iraq and Kuwait while with the Germany-based 47th Support Battalion, 1st Armored Division, wrapping up his tour in November 2006. He also deployed to Egypt from February 2012 to February 2013, Army records show, serving with 1st Army Support Battalion. Those deployments have “severely affected” the soldier and his family, said Roughneen, who did not elaborate. McCullough entered service in 2004 and has earned two Army Commendation Medals and five Army Achievement Medals among other decorations, according to personnel records. The obscenity and endangerment charges are third-degree offenses in New Jersey and carry sentences of up to five years in jail, with the evidence-tampering charge, a fourth-degree offense, potentially adding 18 months. However, sentences in both crime degrees fall under the “presumption of non-imprisonment,” according to the state’s sentencing guidelines, reserving jail time in such instances 6 primarily for repeat offenders and those judged to be dangerous to others. http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2016/03/07/nj-recruiter-charged-sending-explicit-pic-teen-michael-mccullough- army/81265952/ 5. Women’s History Month Webcast Focuses on Mentorship (10 Mar) DoD News, By Shannon Collins The U.S. Office of Personnel Management hosted a mentoring webcast today in recognition of Women’s History Month, focusing on how mentorship affects ability to meet the mission. Rebekah McCloud, director of student development and enrollment services at the University of Central Florida, spoke about five key aspects about mentoring women: employee retention; leadership development; organizational learning; growing the talent pool, especially in cybersecurity and science, technology, engineering and math education; and increasing diversity. McCloud said research reveals that a low number of women work in upper management and executive positions, that there therefore is a low number of women role models, that there are differences in the way men and women are mentors, and that women tend to undervalue their achievements and experiences. Employee Retention “Mentoring programs have reported a significant improvement in employee retention,” McCloud said. “Having someone to walk with you, to walk side by side with you, it’s important.” She said mentors can help employees think through their job responsibilities, find ways to use their skills and talents, and help employees plan, develop and manage their careers. Employees can feel valued when the organization values mentoring, she said, and employee recognition programs can show that commitment. She also suggested that salary decisions, raises or increases or bonuses be based on mentoring or other kinds of coaching and activities. “If you get recognized for mentoring someone, that says your organization values you, and it values mentoring,” McCloud said. “It also can be a part of your performance appraisal, the things you get evaluated on. It may not be a part of your job description, but somebody says, ‘These are valuable, value-added assets to our company. We value the things we pay for. We put our money where our mouth is, and we pay for it. We value it.’” McCloud said mentoring could also be part of the process as new employees enter the organization. “Think about how people get a mentor,” she said. “Is somebody ‘voluntold’ they had to do it, or is it someone who volunteers to become a mentor? There’s a big difference. That tells how much you value it. Mentorship also impacts leadership development.” Leadership Development Most organizations have all the leaders they need within the organization already, McCloud said. “These employees with deep experience are in a unique position to develop mentors,” she said. “We need to utilize them.” These people can help with the development of leadership competencies, she said, adding that they may not always be in the top positions -- they may be the secretaries or the “gatekeepers.” Mentors can help employees improve their job performance, McCloud said. “People lose their jobs because they don’t perform well,” she added. “It is my contention that people don’t start off as bad employees. We all want to do a good job. A mentor can help you out. A mentor is a person who can say, ‘Let me talk to you about that performance’ and ‘Let me talk to you about that decision.’ Let me help you frame the conversation you’re going to have with this employee.’” McCloud said organizations should focus on developing and advancing middle-management women to upper-level positions and should develop a mentoring culture that embeds mentoring throughout the organization and in everything they do. Organizational Learning Organizational learning is a key indicator of success, McCloud said. “Veteran employees can help organizations preserve knowledge and transfer it to younger employees,” she explained. “Organizations need succession plans for all positions, especially those occupied by veteran employees and those who are poised to retired.” McCloud said energy is necessary when mentoring young employees, because “they come in with a lot of energy and excitement and a lot of ideas.” But “reverse mentoring” also should be part of the equation, she added. 7 “Reverse mentoring is when young folks mentor the novice,” she said. “We can learn across the multigenerational mentoring grade; you can learn young from old. Mentors can shorten the time between an employee being newly qualified or fully qualified.” For example, she said, younger employees have helped her with the advanced technology and social media platforms. To get the younger employees fully qualified, she said, everyone should consider some level of mentoring to help them. “You want those people to become fully qualified. They are newly qualified, especially folks right out of college, but you know they have potential,” McCloud said. “You have to have some mentoring to make that happen. It’s empowering. It’s frustrating, but it’s necessary in an organization. Mentors can provide career guidance to the less-experienced but high-potential employees, and mentors can bridge the skills gap.” Growing Talent Pool “Women are often underutilized,” McCloud said. “We are growing in numbers in the workforce, but when there are jobs to be done, when we think they are important, women are overlooked and underutilized. Women have so many talents, and sometimes we don’t speak up for ourselves. Sometimes we don’t let people know we have talents. Mentoring can grow women.” She said visibility is the key. “It’s not who you know but who knows you,” McCloud said, repeating it for emphasis. “When people start thinking about who to involve in a team, do they know you? Do they know your work, your accomplishments?” As mentees grow, they become mentors themselves and pay it forward over and over, she said. “You never lose your flame by lighting another one,” she added. McCloud noted that few women work in the STEM areas. “Those women really need support,” she said. “If you are mentoring women in those areas, think about what extra support you can give employees in those areas. Reach out and make connections. It may not necessarily be within your department, within your division or within the government. It may be elsewhere. But make those connections to support those women. Think about mentoring like any other business decision.” Diversity “Diversity is something we must do in organizations,” McCloud said. “Diversity will help your organization in so many ways. People who are not people of color get just as much out of diversity as people of color do. Diversity includes all of us.” She said inclusivity means looking around and seeing who is missing from the table and making sure there is room for them at the table. McCloud also said grassroots efforts are great, but only if diversity starts top-down and from the bottom-up. “The top has to buy into diversity as an initiative and be involved in mentoring,” she added. Mentoring should be fostered and cultivated, McCloud told the webcast audience. “Go out and start reading, be a part of a formal initiative,” she said. “Get started with mentoring.” http://www.defense.gov/News-Article-View/Article/690754/womens-history-month-webcast-focuses-on- mentorship?source=GovDelivery 6. Other services could overhaul the tape test. Why not the Air Force? (6 Mar) Air Force Times, By Oriana Pawlyk The Air Force is standing firmly behind their tape test, even as airmen for years have complained about its effectiveness and the other services are reviewing the controversial test. "The Air Force continually evaluates all of our programs for improvement, but at this time we have no plans to adjust our fitness assessment," Air Force spokeswoman Rose Richeson told Air Force Times on Thursday. The test — 1.5-mile run, situps, pushups, and waist circumference — last saw a change three years ago when the Air Force implemented the body mass index and body fat tests as an alternative to the tape test. The waist maximums remain 39 inches for men and 35.5 inches for women. "We feel our Air Force is healthier and more fit to fight than we were before, with 96.1 percent of airmen passing the test in 2014 which is up significantly from the 2010 pass rate of 87.6 percent," Richeson said. The numbers for 2015 were not immediately available, she said. The Air Force adopted abdominal circumference measurement after the Defense Department approved the practice in 2009. In May, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh reiterated the service would not be making anymore changes to the PT test over the tape 8 measurement issue. "We looked at this from every angle possible; we talked to everybody who wanted to throw out an opinion — people who were critical of the test, people who were supportive of the test — and I'll tell you this, I got to the bottom line of: Abdominal circumference is not a reason to change the test," Welsh said during a virtual conference. Since October 2013, airmen who fail the abdominal circumference portion of the PT test have had the option of undergoing a Body Mass Index screen if they score 75 out of 80 points on the rest of the test. If they don't meet BMI standards, they can have their percentage of body fat calculated. Unlike the Air Force, the Marine Corps and Army are considering major overhauls to their physical training criteria. Marines should get answers this summer after the Marine Corps commandant ordered a full review in November of the service's fitness standards. Everything is on the table for the Corps, from exercise events and scoring tables to class cut-offs. The service conducts two fitness tests a year, one for physical health, the other for combat readiness. The Marines' tape test — measured for both waist and neck — also hangs in the balance. "Nobody likes to get taped or all that stuff, so what are we going to do? Is the test right? Should we do something else?" Gen. Robert Neller recently told Marine Corps Times. Soldiers can't help but gripe about the same. “I’m going to be honest with you, I get that [issue brought up to me] everywhere I go," Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey told Army Times in February. Daily has ordered a second review, even after the service reassessed their PT test in 2011. "Generally, it seems like it’s a very good tool, but we’ll look at it," he said of the tape test, which also measures neck and abdominal circumference in the Army. The Navy as of Jan. 1 implemented their latest waist measurement, which echoes the Air Force guideline of 39/35.5 waist measurement for men or women. If sailors bust their tape, a waist and neck measurement will be taken for men, and waist, neck and hips will be taken for women with a resulting body fat measurement. Yet the Navy is looking to identify more improvements to training, mainly a job-related PT test. The Air Force, Richeson said, has additional physical training for combat airmen which for years has been standard for any airman entering the battlefield. As for tape, airmen can count on it being around for a while. "Air Force research has identified [abdominal circumference] as being directly linked with both current and future health risks," Richeson said. http://www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2016/03/06/other-services-could-overhaul-tape-test-why-not-air-force/81162032/ 7. Sailors Face More Lenient Body Fat Rules (6 Mar) Associated Press, By Julie Watson The Navy is giving another chance to thousands of sailors who otherwise would be kicked out for repeatedly failing their physical fitness tests because they exceeded body fat limits. The service branch loosened its body fat restrictions in January and is allowing those who failed their exams three or more times to get one more opportunity to be tested this spring under the more lenient guidelines. The Navy said it has been losing too many talented sailors. Some were resorting to liposuction, diet pills and other measures to save their careers. The Navy allowed about 2,400 sailors who passed a preliminary test under the new rules to stay in, reducing the number of failures on their records from three to one, said Navy spokesman, Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen. In the past, three failures were grounds for being 9 kicked out. The sailors will be measured again this spring and allowed only two failures now instead of three. The changes are the latest by the military looking to improve its abilities to recruit and retain talented people as it builds up its cyber- warfare strategy and faces competition from a rebounding economy. A 2014 Pentagon study found that roughly two-thirds of Americans would not qualify to enlist in the armed services as a result of health problems, obesity and the failure to complete a high school education. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the service is not lowering standards but rather adjusting to reality: People today, in general, are bigger but not necessarily fat. The Navy is also considering larger uniforms sizes for the first time in two decades. "It's far more realistic," Mabus said of the new body fat standard. "We were kicking more people out of the Navy for failing that, than for drugs." The number of sailors booted from the Navy annually because they did not meet physical standards has more than doubled from 694 in 2011 to 1,536 in 2014. The changes come amid debate over whether the physical requirements demanded of service members across the board are still relevant or should be adjusted according to the job so the armed forces can maintain the pool of talent it needs for today's high-tech warfare. There's been talk in the Army of easing up on strict body fat requirements for its cyber-warriors, for example. All branches are reviewing their job standards to modernize their forces and prepare for the opening of combat posts to women. From drone operators to cyber-warfare officers, "there are a number of officers in jobs where it is really obvious why it would not make whole lot of difference what their weight is, other than to the extent that the culture in the military disrespects it and therefore, they can't lead," said former Army officer James Joyner, who teaches at the Marine Corps University. He believes the military must change. "It's absurd the percentage of high school teenagers who are considered to be too fat to join the military," Joyner said. "Maybe there are two problems: One, obesity, and the other that the standards are out of date and not relevant." Some 34,000 sailors, or roughly 10 percent of the force, have failed the physical requirements at least once since 2011, mostly because of body fat, Christensen said. The Navy's old policy allowed for 22 percent body fat for males ages 17-39, and 33 percent body fat for females ages 17-39. Sailors age 40 and older were allotted one additional percentage point or 23 percent for males and 34 percent for women over 40. The new limits fall in line with the Department of Defense standards and allow sailors to pass with a maximum 26 percent of body fat for men and 36 percent for women. Service members have long complained that the Defense Department's method of estimating body fat punishes bulkier, muscular builds. Plastic surgeons in communities near bases have said up to a third of their business comes from service members seeking liposuction to pass the exam. The traditional, so-called "tape test" relies on measurements of the neck and waist to calculate one's body fat percentage. Fitness experts have questioned its accuracy. The Air Force in 2013 started allowing airmen who fail the tape test but pass physical fitness exams to be measured using the Body Mass Index, which is a chart based on an individual's weight and height. The Navy adopted similar rules, expanded gym hours and provides fitness help to post-partum sailors. 10