Mingus: Holistic Health, Fitness Should Be Daily Practice

Mingus: Holistic Health, Fitness Should Be Daily Practice

Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus speaks at AUSA 2024
Photo by: Carol Guzy for AUSA

The Army is working to shift its fitness culture from a biennial test and weigh-in to a daily practice in not only physical but mental and spiritual health through its Holistic Health and Fitness program, now operational in 50 brigades and working its way to 111.

"The [Army Combat Fitness Test] is important, and it's a great event, but it's something you do twice a year," Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus said Oct. 15 at the Association of the U.S. Army's Annual Meeting and Exposition. "How you train, how you eat, how you sleep, all those things are what you do every single day."

The Holistic Health and Fitness, or H2F, program goes back to 2018, an effort to combat widespread musculoskeletal injuries and growing chronic illnesses in the force. To date, the program has fielded nutritionists, physical therapists, strength and conditioning coaches and more to 50 brigades in an effort to fine tune unit fitness programs beyond traditional pushups and runs.

Previously, the Army focused on programs that reduced weight and body fat both for current soldiers and potential recruits working to meet standards for enlistment.

But as the Army has expanded its physical requirements beyond running, pushups and situps, it's become clear that measurements don't tell the whole story on combat readiness.

"Their bones, their ligaments, their tendons are not set to do the rigors" of Army training, Mingus said. "So, even if they lose the weight, and we don't train them properly in this way, we're going to break them, and they're going to be out on the back end."

As an example, he added, you might find that units without the H2F program are full of soldiers who can't squat or deadlift their own weight. "Yet we put 70, 80 pounds worth of kit on them, and they jump out of a 5-foot window, and we wonder why they blow out their knee,” he said.

The Army has seen huge wins among units that have integrated those resources, according to the head of the Center for Initial Military Training.

Those include a 200% decrease in medical boards, a 22% decrease in behavioral health profiles and a 26% increase in expert rifle qualifications, Lt. Gen. David Francis said.

The effort is rolling out to 111 brigades over the next few years, and that will include more pilot programs in the National Guard and Army Reserve starting in 2026, Francis added.

— Meghann Myers for AUSA