Historical Review and Analysis of Army Physical Readiness Training and Assessment: Antiquity, Middle Ages, Colonial and Revolutionary Era, Koehler Era, Princeton Years, World War I and II, Cold War

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this Army publication provides a pragmatic history of physical readiness training in the Army, stretching from antiquity to modern times. This work on the history of physical readiness training in our Army was written by Dr. Whitfield B. East, a Professor in the Department of Physical Education at the United States Military Academy at West Point. This manuscript is part of CSI's series of works that bring the scholarship of our academics from the Army's schools into the larger discourse on military matters. Dr. East's work provides the reader an interesting and detailed historical recounting of physical readiness training in our Army. In doing so, he makes the case for the further development of physical training programs with a greater emphasis on programs built from scientific research.

Contents: Chapter 1 - Historical Influences on Army Physical Readiness Training * Chapter 2 - The Naissance of Army Physical Readiness Training in America * Chapter 3 - The Koehler Era * Chapter 4 - World War I - The Princeton Years * Chapter 5 - World War II - A Return to Combat Readiness * Chapter 6 - The Cold War Era - Fomenting a National Fitness Policy * Chapter 7 - Return to Combat - Focused Physical Readiness Training * Chapter 8 - Summary, Analysis, and Discussion

Through the process of critical review, the purpose of this monograph is to analyze the history of physical readiness training and assessment in the United States Army. Although the evolution of Army physical readiness training (PRT) doctrine begins during the pre-Colonial period in America, in order to fully understand this evolutionary process we must first understand the development of military physical training in Europe and its role in shaping the philosophy and doctrine of US Army PRT. After a short review of the role of physical training in antiquity, we will review in depth the growth of military "gymnastics" in Europe, especially Prussia, during the 19th century and the pathways of this doctrine and training to the United States and the US Army. A full understanding of the foundations of European military gymnastics is crucial to understanding the evolution of PRT in the US Army since European military gymnastics served as the touchstone for Army PRT. We will then explore the extrinsic and intrinsic forces that have shaped Army PRT doctrine since 1700 with particular attention to the influences of a changing economic, social, and political milieu and evolution of warfighter tactics and technology.

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