Every year the Army recruits thousands of new members, and each year a significant portion of those recruits either renegotiate their ship date to basic training or exit the process all together due to not meeting the Height and Weight requirements. These renegotiated contracts, and losses come at a financial cost to the Army. This exploratory study used quantitative research methods to explore the impact of exercise frequency and intensity on accessions into the Army, related to body composition standards adherence. Using a single Recruiting Battalion and Military Entrance Processing Station recruits participating in Future Soldier Training, tracked their physical activity frequency and intensity for six weeks. Key findings from this study suggest that the majority of the data needed for this study is readily available, and some recommendations for future implementation of this study focus on removing the administrative burden for recruiters.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)