GFAFB/CC Ousted for being fat
 

Commander at GF Air Force Base forced from job due to waist size | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

He failed to meet the 39" limit.

Said he did too much desk work.

Refreshing leadership attitude (if genuine). Unless I learn otherwise, I'm sorry to learn about this. It seems petty.

I like how he handled it.

Good on them to do what's right. It's not like this snuck up on him or that he wasn't aware of the standard.

No sympathy for this. Knew more than one senior officer and enlisted that didn't have to "play by the rules" like the rest of us when it came to physical standards. It may be one thing for them to be killing the PT test and maxing it out, but control your weight and set a decent example for the rest of the people below you. It shows lack of discipline and sets a poor example, two qualities that are opposite of what you want in a leader.

I spend most of my day doing administrative work too, that is why I head out to the gym after work and get involved in activities. My physical health is way too important to risk not doing this. I'd be curious to know what his actual "scores" were too, if he was passing or "barely passing", and I would say most people that "do not meet the standard" for waist size do it by inches too...likely not feet :)

GFAFB/CC Ousted for being fat
 

No sympathy, I've seen good, technically competent enlisted folks (not fortunate enough to be E-8/9) get busted down a stripe then put on the street. It's about time they dropped the hammer on leadership as well!

Civilians often have a hard time understanding this (read most article comments).

As a Marine, staying in shape was not just part of my job description, it was a requirement.

Hopefully the first of many commanders to get canned for failing F2F. The double standard is a morale killer.

Regarding Col Bush's bio--only 2100 flight hours in 25 years? That's even more embarrassing than getting fired.

It's refreshing to see standards enforced.

But I find the waist measurement thing a little odd. Quite frankly that's purely cosmetic... body fat percentage, combined with PT test scores, is probably a better read of health/fitness. Some people may just be shaped differently...is the AF running a military organization or a beauty pageant?

Waist measurement is a waste and makes no sense. It is not adjusted for height. A man 5'5" can have a 39" waist and pass, but look like Homer Simpson, and a 6' 1" 227lb man with 40" waist will look more athletic and probably out do the "Homer" on the physical events but fail the test. If there was a height scale, it would make more sense.

We just had an individual leave the service as a captain over weight issues. He was held back about 6 weeks at the end of T-6s because someone thought he was too heavy for the ejection seat limits on the T-6, he was. He was also a pretty solid big weight lifter type. So he starved himself to slim down to finish T-6s. He goes T-1s and gets a C-17. This is before the new fitness test was implemented and was when the old weight management program was in effect. He gained weight again, mostly muscle. He finishes Altus, but is now overweight by the old standards. So he goes round and round over body fat percentage, BMI and was aceing the old PT and aced the new PT. Someone was going to give a waiver, then that person wasn't in charge anymore, so back to square one. Next person wasn't going to waive, so now he is looking for a job. Before that person can follow through, he moves on, so back to square one. Enter the new PT test, and he can't pass based on waist. He maxed all the other events, and probably uber maxed some, so on paper he gets a 100%, but fails. He tried waivers, had himself floated and measured with electrodes by sports medicine folks at a large university to show his body fat was around 7% or less to prove his point, but the AF was unbending. That is about the gist of it, I can't remember all the details, but it is reasonably close to the truth. So this guy just wanted to serve his country, and spent 5 years on active duty, graduated UPT, C-17 initial qual at Altus and then 3 plus years casual at a UPT base to separate as a captain. There is a win for the tax payers.

From the latest in AF Times, it sounds like Col Bush is not bitter and says the AF made the right call.

Colonel: AF made a ‘fair and just’ decision - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

You have to wonder who comes up with this stuff. Anyone can see the problem in this practice, but no one that signed off on it thought "hey wait..."