Pentagon officials say each of the services now are beginning to institute assessments of the health—physical and mental—of each troop returning from deployment—within 90 to 120 days of their return. Officials say the new program is slated to start in January. The Army, Navy, and Marine Corps began testing the program in June; the Air Force started its test in September.
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,…