The Army builds H2F training and testing across a Soldier’s career span in two phases: initial and sustaining. The training is based on an assessment of the needs of the Soldier and the unit.
The testing validates that training has met the readiness needs of the Soldier and, by extension, his or her unit. This part of the doctrine discusses the two phases of the H2F System.
Here we will cover the initial phase. Click here for the Sustaining phase
INTRODUCTION
2-1.
Initial phase training builds foundational and fundamental skill in Soldiering tasks: shoot, move communicate, survive and protect or treat.
Within these tasks are physical and mental skills that Soldiers must acquire before the completion of IMT.
Training prior to IMT is driven by the individual recruit in the FSP guided by information in this doctrine and the recruiter.
Drill sergeants and their fellow cadre (who include H2F performance team members) conduct training in IMT in large, collective formations using H2F facilities and equipment.
2-2.
Initial phase training includes the FSP, BCT, advanced individual training (AIT), one station unit training (OSUT), Warrant Officer Candidate School (known as WOCS), Warrant Officer Basic Course (known as WOBC), basic officer leader courses, and the time spent acclimating to the FUA.
Due to the varying lengths of these IMT programs, some Soldiers who finish sooner may stay in the initial phase after moving to their FUA until they are physiologically ready to move to sustaining phase activities.
By the time Soldiers have completed six months of IMT, they are ready to move to the sustaining phase.
H2F performance teams provide individual training and testing for those Soldiers who need more time to adapt.
2-3.
If a Soldier reaches the sustaining phase standards during AIT or OSUT, he or she can begin sustaining phase training.
Progression to sustaining phase activity should not be an automatic expectation.
Soldiers will arrive at their FUA medically ready, physically fit, disciplined, and lethal with their weapons.
The variety of time spent in IMT means that some Soldiers’ physiological preparedness may not be at the same level as others.
As discussed in Chapter 12, new Soldiers may have to modify training until they can safely join sustaining phase training.
2-4.
Initial phase training is much more prescriptive than sustaining phase training for these important reasons:
● Untrained and deconditioned individuals must adhere to a training program that mitigates the relatively high risk of injury.
● Initial phase Soldiers must learn the standard movements required for Soldiering.
● Prescriptive, collective training is most feasible when there is a high trainee-to-cadre ratio.
● Shared training experiences instill cohesion and improve the Soldierization process.
FUTURE SOLDIER PROGRAM
2-5.
The FSP prepares individuals for the OPAT and the rigors of IMT.
Detailed information for commanders in charge of preparing individuals and recruits for the physical demands of IMT is found in Part Four.
BASIC COMBAT TRAINING
2-6.
The 10-week H2F program for BCT provides foundational readiness and fundamental physical and mental skills.
New Soldiers report to BCT with various levels of potential.
The first weeks of training focus on general progression of physical readiness.
To minimize the risk of injury, Soldiers must perform exercises correctly, precisely, and with gradually increasing intensity.
To imprint the motor skills required for fundamental physical demand tasks, Soldiers repeat the exercises and drills, like the common Soldier tasks, as frequently and with as much attention to detail as possible.
The schedules in this doctrine, when executed to standard, provide the proper training intensity and volume to improve training and testing outcomes and control attrition.
2-7.
H2F performance team in BCT includes physical therapists, registered dietitians, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning specialists, and H2F master trainers.
The H2F performance team can train large formations using this doctrine and can evaluate Soldiers who fall below BCT and H2F goals.
The H2F performance team gives Soldiers conditioning programs that improve their performance.
Conditioning accounts for adaptive physiological changes that take longer than ten weeks.
Soldiers who require longer than this to meet Army standards to progress to AIT will move to the fitness training unit (FTU).
2-8.
H2F physical training for BCT incorporates the following:
● Weight training.
● Seven-day schedules to include active recovery sessions to maximize response to training.
● Strength, endurance and sprint training ability groups.
● Sessions conducted in the ACU.
● Running skill training.
● Soft-tissue and joint mobilization techniques for recovery.
● The ACFT.
2-9.
The nonphysical domains of H2F:
● Nutritional readiness.
● Mental readiness.
● Spiritual readiness.
● Sleep readiness.
ADVANCED INDIVIDUAL TRAINING
2-10.
AIT focuses on technical and MOS-oriented subjects.
Therefore, H2F training should prepare these Soldiers to meet the physical and nonphysical requirements of their FUA.
H2F performance teams continue to conduct initial phase training until Soldiers meet Army standards before transitioning to sustaining phase activities.
A 14-week AIT schedule is included in Part Four beginning on page 14-21.
ONE STATION UNIT TRAINING
2-11.
OSUT follows similar progression as BCT for the first 10 weeks and then continues initial phase activities until Soldiers have met the Army’s standards for sustaining phase.
Sustaining phase activities are more complex and prepare Soldiers to perform the requirements of their MOS assignments and multiple domain operations.
MOSs with 22-week OSUT will be programmed by the H2F performance team in those schools.
A 22-week OSUT schedule is included in Part Four beginning on page 14-27.
FIRST UNIT OF ASSIGNMENT
2-12.
After completing IMT, Soldiers arrive at their first unit within a few days or weeks.
The break between departure from IMT and arrival at the first unit may cause Soldiers’ readiness to degrade.
Significant losses in strength, endurance, and mobility occur after 14 days of little or no training.
The degradation is more significant in newly trained Soldiers who do not already have high levels of physical readiness.
IMT leaders and H2F performance teams understand this and encourage and motivate Soldiers to accept responsibility to maintain their own readiness.
H2F performance team members and unit leaders at the Soldiers’ first assignment are also aware of this.
They design and organize conditioning programs that expedite the new Soldiers’ acclimatization to the unit and movement into sustaining phase training.
These programs may last from a few days to several weeks.
Phases
The two phases of the Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) System, the initial phase and the sustaining phase, cover the Total Army. From the start of the initial phase as a new recruit until completion of the sustaining phase when Soldiers become Army careerists, they will be immersed in a comprehensive H2F System that optimizes their readiness.