Returning Airmen Are Healthy, For the Most Part: According to follow-up health assessments of some 12,500 airmen taken within 90 to 180 days after they return from an overseas deployment, most of them are healthy. DOD mandates an immediate health survey and a later one, called the post-deployment health reassessment survey, which personnel can complete online within about 15 minutes. Air Force officials say that about 40 percent of the 12,500 airmen have said they have a health problem—mostly minor ones.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…