Armed with results proving high-altitude effects on running performance, Air Force Academy officials pressed the Defense Department to reinstitute altitude-adjusted physical fitness scoring. Evaluating 55 runners from the Colorado Springs area, the Academy’s Human Performance Laboratory demonstrated a marked increase in 1.5 mile run-times, even after runners are acclimatized to altitude—unfairly penalizing airmen at high-altitude bases. “Due to atmospheric pressure, there is a significant difference in oxygen content at sea level (26.5 percent) than there is at 7,200 feet (20.9 percent),” said A.L. Wile, HPL director. Many people see “up to a minute increase in their run times” at the academy, noted its command chief, CMSgt. Todd Salzman. As a result of the study, DOD reinstated altitude-corrected scoring, absent since 2010, on Jan. 1. Starting at 18 seconds, time bonuses increase with altitude at the academy and five stateside bases. (Colorado Springs report by Gino Mattorano)
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
