A SET OF NATIONAL ARMED FORCES PHYSICAL READINESS CONTROL EXERCISES

The modern geopolitical situation in the world, especially in Eastern Europe, obliges every soldier to be ready for battle, and thus to be comprehensively physically prepared, developing all physical qualities and, in the alternative, testing all physical qualities. Leading NATO members, as well as the armed forces of other countries, have changed their physical fitness systems in recent years and, in the meantime, Army physical fitness tests (APFT) (Foulis et al., 2017; Kirknes & Aandstad, 2016). APFT are designed in such a way that the most typical battlefield activities are simulated and the obtained results of control exercises facilitate the task of unit commanders to assess the true combat capabilities of their units (Harman et al., 2008; Knapik et al., 2004). It is possible to make sure that a soldier is comprehensively physically trained by performing various physical fitness tests, and the wider the range of these tests,
the more objective results can be obtained by assessing the soldiersʼ physical fitness (Foulis et al., 2017; Harman et al., 2008; Robson et al., 2017). Physical fitness standards may serve a wide range of goals, including improving general well-being, boosting unit morale, increasing productivity, reducing injuries and lost workdays, and eliminating stress. Depending on the goal, the standards could be the same for everyone or applied differentially, e.g., by age or sex. Standards developed for specific occupational tasks would be applied to all who perform those tasks (Robson et al., 2017). According Robson et al. (2017), process of creating a set of control exercises requires: Conducting a job analysis to identify the physical demands of key criterion tasks (e.g. mass of objects, distance of movement, physiological strain); Developing simulations of these tasks that are representative of the actual job but sufficiently controlled to be safe and reliable (i.e. criterion tests); Establishing the efficacy of using selection tests and/or generic fitness tests to assess personnel and establish whether training conducted between point of selection and taking up a qualified role influences criterion task performance; Proposing evidence-based performance standards. Another problem, the need to create a new APFT, should be mentioned the low level of physical readiness of the army recruits. Research methods. The current Latvian APFT, which includes sit-ups, push-ups, and a 1.5 km/3 km run for
women/men (in accordance with AM 6NOT) has long been used to determine a soldier’s and recruit’s physical readiness. Each exercise in APFT is evaluated on a 100-point scale, where the evaluation “satisfactory” can be obtained by presenting the result on 10 points, “good” on 20, “very good” on 30, “excellent” on 40 and “brilliant” on 60 points. The APFT overall score “satisfactory” can be obtained by presenting a 10-point score in each of the exercises. Results and discussion. In 2014, the NAF recruited 369 new recruits, in 2017 575 and in 2020 747 new recruits (18–39 years old). In 2014, 13% of new recruits showed a “weak” result in APFT, 14% “satisfactory”, 13% “good”, 21% “very good”, 19% “excellent” and 20% “brilliant” in physical fitness tests. In 2017, 28% of new recruits showed a “weak” result in APFT, 24% “satisfactory”, 13% “good”, 10% “very good”, 12% “excellent” and 13% “brilliant” in physical fitness tests. In 2020, 45% of new recruits showed a “weak” result in APFT, 17% “satisfactory”, 11% “good”, 8% “very good”, 10% “excellent” and 9% “brilliant” in physical fitness tests.
Conclusions. Testing the physical readiness of soldiers, with using the most objective APFT – aimed at comprehensive physical fitness and true assessment of combat capabilities, would be a priority for the NAF.