Why do military guys feel the need to lie about their mile times?

Hey Real4:04Miler, as a fellow veteran who has probably done more "real" military sh*t than some BUD/S dud, I just want to drop a note to let you know how much I hate veterans like you. Move on and get a life. Stop getting butthurt and performing mental acrobatics to defend vets and troops lying about their run times. It's common as hell.

Also, you were in the navy and multiple people that you went to bootcamp with died in combat? Speaking of people telling tall tales...

Your trying to get rise you never served and you full of S#it. I am calling you out.

I absolutely did. Multiple combat tours to Afghanistan. Nothing funnier than a guy claiming an injury when he fails a school though, so thanks for that chuckle. Keep getting butthurt when people don't pander to you for having served.

Also you never answered my question about multiple people from your bootcamp class being killed/losing limbs in combat. I'm the liar?

As you try and make up a justification for that lie, try and learn the difference between "your" and "you're"...or is seeing veterans get called out over their spelling a trigger for you as well?

Thanks for swimming in cold water and ringing a bell!

Doubtful. I spent 7 years in USMC and 24 mos with SEALs on board, so we occasionally trained together on ship/in port. All were very, very fit; all worked out a lot; few were sub 18 guys. During TBS, at “peak” moments, you might get 5% of the class to go sub 18 PFT. Out of about 250 in TBS, I recall 2 other guys who ran Distance in college.

If everyone thinks rationally about this...think about your HS or College buddies, that were NOT track guys; you will realize that the population of people who can do these times is small, even in a pool of fit guys who played other sports in HS and College.

As for the lying, I haven’t seen it really. Marines were in decent shape but seemed to dread PFTs or long runs. It was actually a little disappointing.

15 year active duty Naval Aviator-turned-FAO here; sorry to see how a lot of these military threads turn into competitions of who-did-what-when. I think anyone who's served, whether they got shot at or not, can agree that the job can be all-consuming and that the time away from family while on workups, deployment, etc. adds up. And it hurts.

Of all the 1.5 mile fitness tests runs I've done, I've noticed over the years less and less folks opting for the run. The majority now do the swim, the elliptical, the bike, or even the treadmill as they're easier to pass than the actual run. Nowadays if you score high enough, you only have to do it once a year (as opposed to twice, which was the standard for years). Most often, the courses I've run are on roads, most are downhill, and either out-and-backs or straight-line distance. I seem to remember that the instruction allows for up to a 10% leeway on the actual 1.5 mile distance, and most courses I've run have always been short. My fastest time came on a track in college (6:47 for 6 laps instead of an actual 1.5 mile) where I wore flats and was lapping people 600m in; afterwards I got asked if I was an Olympian, lol.

Of note, one of the "rules" of the run is that the overall clock doesn't start until the last person passes the line. So I have always started last to give everyone a head start...sometimes up to a minute while I pretend to tie my shoes, stretch, etc. This was appreciated back when we still actually outprocessed folks for failing to meet the minimum score for the run (based on age and gender, but around 12-13:00 minimum for the average male). Today we don't do kick people out for failing the run but put them on remedial PT instead to get them to the minimum score. There's been talk of changing up the test to make it less cardio-based but I think that's a mistake. Me consistently running down a bunch of 18-to-20-somethings as a 36-year-old probably says more about our collective fitness priorities as Americans than my feeble attempts at placating my own ego.

As Alan and others pointed out, this is probably due to a lack of familiarity with the sport rather than blatant fabrication. Something I've noticed over the years is that, generally speaking, there is less interest in cardio-type fitness among the active duty military types I know, especially the younger generation. Crossfit-type workouts with masks on tend to be more popular. Most just don't have the interest and therefore the knowledge. I think it has to do with the more sedentary lives the average 18-year-old leads nowadays. I was amazed during my last port call how many young sailors headed straight off the boat and right to the WiFi zone next to the pier rather than out into the town we had just pulled in to...and then stayed there the whole time!

IT's not just Army guys!

I was not that fast a miler, but fast enough that many were compelled to lie to me that they were faster.

Ego, and human nature.

Ex-British military here.

We did a BFT (basic fitness test): 15 minute 1.5m warm-up and then as fast as you can 1.5m. My best time (2nd place from 110 runners) was 7:25. I was a REMF.

I entered the United Kingdom Land Forces XC Championships, running against all unit types - but mostly infantry. I came 99th.

Grunts were always way faster and the UK army of old did a lot of running. Shin splints and other running (stress) related injuries put a stop to boot running and less tabbing.

Don’t recall people exaggerating, just recall people either being okay with running or people absolutely hating it. Arte et Marte.

I sometimes wonder how the army will carry on recruiting. At some point in the future it will reach a stage where there aren't enough eligible kids. The exclusion criteria will apply to too high a % of the UK population anyway.

track chick wrote:

I sometimes wonder how the army will carry on recruiting. At some point in the future it will reach a stage where there aren't enough eligible kids. The exclusion criteria will apply to too high a % of the UK population anyway.

They wont stop recruiting, the minimum standards will just get lower. The population as a whole is becoming less fit, a 12:30 1.5 mile is seen as a measure of superior fitness for most.

Elementary Watson wrote:

Military liars wrote: I’ve seen so many posts about army guys lieing about their physical fitness ..?

Who knows? But here's a question for you: Why do people post on message boards when they barely have command of the English language. (Just FYI - "Lying" > "Lieing")

Here's another question: Why do people post on message boards when they know nothing about the world? (Just FYI: English is not everyone's first language, and the "internet" is international.)

If you think that someone spelling "lying" as "lieing" shows they "barely have command of the English language," you are only reflecting your own stupidity.

Also, learn the difference between the use of a dash and a colon.

Obesity is just going to get worse wrote:

track chick wrote:

I sometimes wonder how the army will carry on recruiting. At some point in the future it will reach a stage where there aren't enough eligible kids. The exclusion criteria will apply to too high a % of the UK population anyway.

They wont stop recruiting, the minimum standards will just get lower. The population as a whole is becoming less fit, a 12:30 1.5 mile is seen as a measure of superior fitness for most.

The new ACFT is set to replace the Army’s existing pt test the APFT in Oct 2020. The new test is gender and age neutral and easier to pass in my estimation,

I would expect changes to the height/weight standard in coming years as the country becomes more and more obese.

Alan

Ok, you seem to feel you need to validate, so prove it! show me the credentials of a 4:04, and 5 repeats at 5 min pace. I was Air Force and can say with certainty, that Air Force and Navy can never get into a discussion about the misfortune of combat trauma and/or PTSD with Army and Marines. I get irritated about military being on a ship or air base 500 miles away from the action and placing blame on their service for their current quality of life. I have a friend who never left the country and collecting benefits for PTSD. He was a loser before enlisting, did 4 years, never promoted and left a loser. But sure as s%it wears his fatigue jacket daily and acts like he just returned from Nam.

Corey Duquette

Uh, oh. Looks like it's "Veteran Privilege is Real" and "gotta respond" turn to put up or shut up. "Real4:04Miler" times are legit. Although, you didn't really run 4:04; it was 4:04.35 you exaggerator! LOL

Cue the sound of crickets as we wait patiently for the response from those who called him out ...

Never called you out on your running. Now answer the one about how multiple kids you went to navy bootcamp with died and lost limbs. Also, if you DOR a course, it is not a med-drop - while you're at it go ahead and explain how that's possible too.

Looks like military guys sometimes feel the need to lie about more than their mile times.

A friend of mine from boot camp TM lost all limbs was in boot camp with me same division 387 division. When I was a weapons tech with special warfare group one the command lost a number of people. Numerous suicides I have had to deal with. Three close friends committed suicide. Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Army, Coast Guard branch is irrelivant man we all served and some of us have lost friends. I can remember a close friend mentor who said see you on Monday bro then reported for sunday duty to be told that over the weekend Petty Officer P died unexpectedly. So BUDs dud or not yes I am a BUDs dud and DOR'd but guess what at least I tried and at least I met the standard to qualify for the training. I am still a bad a$$ with a bad a$$ job who is still taken names and striving to succeed at this thing called life and when it co.rd to veterans I will do anything for them. So nice try bro there are people out there that are better then you at life.

The best vets are the ones that say the least. The worst are the washouts and tale-tellers who call themselves "bada$$". Plenty of people better than me, I just know which end of that spectrum I'm striving for.

Lol-lipop wrote:

A personal trainer at a gym (made you see them to get a free 'assessment' when you join) to sell you PT sessison was some jacked dude and would flat out tell me he runs 10k under 30min. It was the funniest crap I've ever heard. This was after I told him I was a high 35's guy,

I asked him if he was eating all the medals he was probably winning because he was a bit too full of iron.

Then they want to watch you walk in a straight line (only walk) and tell you how to be a better runner.

Lol I walked right out of there.

Haha, last week a female coworker told me she runs a 30 minute 5 miler first thing in the morning every day. But she could do it in 26-27 minutes if she would push the pace.

I told her that every track club in the country would be happy to have her, but she had no interest because she "just runs to get rid of some excess energy anyway"

Impressed you were able to hijack someones identity so quick, I think I will be Alan Webb so my 3:46 beats your 4:04, and I am a GS14 step 8....who is the bada%$$ now?