OT: Memo Costs Police Chief His Job

November 2, 2006

Hey y'all,

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/01/jelly.belly.ap/index.html

There might be more to the above than is told in the tale .. but even

outside of Winter Haven, FL, I have seen some cops that couldn't chase

an old man for 100 yards .. some of them would probably get winded just

walking from the car to the doughnut shop.

And that is a SHAME for America! We make demands of the police force

but we make few demands of the individual cops. This Chief Goward is

right on line with his comments .. appearance is important for a lot of

reasons .. not just esthetic reasons .. but practical reasons.

A couple of nights ago on Russian TV and saw the American Chairman of

the Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting with his Russian counterpart. The

American general (like ALL American generals) was a slim, trim, totally

fit officer .. the Russian (like most European generals) was fat and

looked more like a pastry chef than a leader of soldiers. In the US

Army soldiers must take a physical fitness test every 6 months .. and a

pinch test for excess body mass .. and pass both. If they fail any

portion of that tough test .. they must take it again and pass it inside

90 days .. or .. they are out of the Army in 90 days. General Officers

are not excluded from this requirement.

True it is that the US Army has (lately) overlooked some of these high

standards for some Reserve and National Guard soldiers.

When I return to the USA .. there is no way I will not complain if the

police force in my town looks like a bunch of Jelly Bellies .. and its

my opinion that all Americans should do the same.

True it is that there are overweight cops out and about who are good

crime scene investigators and such .. but that is not enough. Being a

retired military cop I know for sure that there is a great need for cops

to be ready for whatever comes along .. and they must be physically fit

in order to perform their duties. Anything less and we are getting less

than we are paying for.

Maybe its a part of the new Liberalization of America .. I am sure I

have one helluva lotta cultural shock to deal with when I return.

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch

November 2, 2006

----

Butch Owen

11/1/2006 7:31:23 PM

OT: Memo Costs Police Chief His Job

True it is that there are overweight cops out and about who are good

crime scene investigators and such .. but that is not enough. Being a

retired military cop I know for sure that there is a great need for cops

to be ready for whatever comes along .. and they must be physically fit

in order to perform their duties. Anything less and we are getting less

than we are paying for.

Being physically fit and looking it can be two different things. I know

several people who are not physically fit looking, but can out run, out push

up and out last most when it comes to fitness tests. Just cause they are

over weight doesn't mean anything. Asthma can stop the most physically fit

looking person from running. Just cause they are societies Idea of fat

doesn't mean they are unhealthy (I'm a recovering anorexic/bulimic). I know

a couple of physically fit, healthy people who have dropped dead out of the

blue. I admit that if you are a beat cop you should be able to to pass a

physical fitness test, but you know one of the reasons cops eat donuts and

coffee so much is the sugar rush that one needs in order to fuel all that

adrenaline, also if one has a job such as a police person chances are their

adrenal glands are usually in over drive and stress like that can cause a

person to retain weight as a survival mechanism.

November 2, 2006