The Air Force said Wednesday it plans to resume fitness testing for service members in January after putting the assessments on pause in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The testing, which includes a 1.5-mile run, 1 minute of pushups and 1 minute of sit-ups, was delayed from October to Jan. 1. The assessments usually include waist, height and weight measurements as well, but is delaying those until further notice.

"We know people are staying fit regardless, but we want to give our airmen enough time to prepare," said Gen. Charles Brown Jr., Air Force chief of staff.

The testing was originally set to take place in March, but was delayed until June and then again until Oct. 1 to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The test, officially the U.S. Air Force Basic Military Training Physical Fitness Test, is a three-event physical performance test of endurance, used to measure physical strength, abilities and cardio-respiratory fitness.

"This is an unprecedented situation and we've put a lot of work into assessing how and when we could safely resume fitness testing across the force," said Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services.

"People have been juggling work, childcare issues, homeschooling, family separations, isolation, etc., and we know it's been more challenging to maintain fitness. This delay gives our folks extra time to prepare for January, while also ensuring units have more time to implement additional COVID precautions.

"We're also aware our resumption occurs right after the annual holiday season that can be challenging for people's fitness," Kelly added. "Hopefully this change removes some of the stress caused by the waist measurement, and gives us all a chance to start our New Year's readiness and fitness resolutions on the right foot."

The Air Force said all testing will take place depending on social distancing protocols put in place by local public health officials.

Senators introduce bill allowing service members to break leases by email
Washington DC (UPI) Sep 16, 2020 - A bipartisan group of senators has introduced legislation that would allow service members to break residential or car leases more easily should they be relocated.

The bill is an update to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which, among other things, allows service members to break leases without penalty if they are required to be relocated or deployed for longer than 90 days.

Under the existing law, service-members must give notice of breaking the lease in writing. The update seeks to allow that notice to be given electronically.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., a co-sponsor of the bill and member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, said the ability to electronically notify landlords and car leasing companies is particularly critical for service members because they may already be in another location when they need to make the notification.

"Our service members and their families make incredible sacrifices to keep our country safe, so we should take every opportunity to make it easier for them to manage major financial transactions like residential and car leases," she said Wednesday. "Our bipartisan bill is a sensible, overdue update to the law that ensures servicemembers can deliver valid, enforceable notice of lease terminations electronically."

Sen. Robert Portman, R-Ohio, said the update to the law is especially important right now because "the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing us to reconsider the ways we conduct transactions."

The group of senators, which included Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., John Boozman, R-Ark., Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., introduced the legislation Monday and it has been referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs for consideration.

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US Air Force reveals previously unknown advanced fighter has already flown
Washington DC (Sputnik) Sep 16, 2020
The US Air Force's acquisition chief revealed at a Tuesday forum not only that a demonstrator aircraft for the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program already exists, but that it's already flown, too. At the virtual 2020 Air, Space and Cyber Conference on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Will Roper said the NGAD program, which aims to deliver a new advanced fighter jet every five years, was advancing at a pace never before seen. "NG ... read more