Aging Guard, Reserve to Test for Fitness

Pentagon officials, alarmed by the graying of the National Guard and Army Reserve, have ordered fitness screening for part-time soldiers over age 40.

A directive by Deputy Defense Secretary William Howard Taft concludes that health screening must begin immediately, even though the National Guard and Reserve may receive some bad publicity about the results.

“It is imperative that the Army proceed immediately with . . . screening of all guardsmen and reservists over age 40,” Taft wrote in an Oct. 9 directive approving a recommendation by Assistant Defense Secretary James H. Webb Jr.

The contents of the directive were disclosed Thursday.

One in Six Older Than 40

Webb, who is in charge of reserve affairs at the Pentagon, said more than one of every six members of the Army Reserve and National Guard are older than 40. That percentage has been rising in recent years as the Pentagon has sought to increase the size and responsibilities of the reserve forces, he said.

The Army, in a step praised by Webb, recently raised its physical fitness standards for all men and women in the active service and in the reserves. In the process, it also set specific physical fitness standards for men and women over 40--an age group that had previously escaped such requirements.

However, individuals older than 40 cannot take the physical fitness test until they have been medically screened. And in the case of National Guard members and reservists, the Army has been slow to start a screening program, Webb said.

Poor Performance

The Army conducted a pilot screening program more than 18 months ago in Virginia, in which only 29% of the 1,328 National Guard soldiers and 46.8% of the 1,522 Army Reservists tested were able to pass the initial--or Phase I--medical fitness exam.

Two Virginians who failed the initial exam and moved on to a Phase II treadmill stress exam died a short time after taking the test.

The Army’s response to those results was to stop the testing and recommend that Congress pass legislation extending military medical disability protection to part-time soldiers who are injured or die while on active duty for training or testing, Webb said.

But in the meantime, Webb argued, the Army should proceed with the initial medical exams for those over 40 “in order to find out exactly what you’ve got.”