No PT belts needed during the day, on running tracks, Army secretary says

Secretary of the Army Mark Esper conducts PT with soldiers during a recent visit to Fort Drum, New York. Per his order, the soldiers observing him will no longer have to wear reflective belts in the gym. (Daniel Torok/Army)

First it was weekend safety briefs. Now, Army Secretary Mark Esper has eased rules on another iconic Army regulation that has launched a thousand memes.

In a memo signed Jan. 4, Esper effectively did away with PT belts.

“[Headquarters Department of the Army] does not require the wear of the reflective physical training belt or vest during daylight hours, or while conducting physical training on closed roads or dedicated physical training routes.”

The Army's gray physical fitness uniform will be phased out Sept. 30, 2017, in favor of the new black and gold uniform. (Army)

Previously, the glow belts could be seen on tracks and parade fields on any given day, on any installation, not to mention on soldiers out jogging around town.

That memo also removed the requirement for units to record command training in the Digital Training Management System, and changed procedures for inspecting pre-positioned stocks, like the armored brigade vehicles and equipment the Army has stored in Europe.

“The stock record officer may use routine events such as maintenance, location changes, or disposal to maintain accurate accountability records to reduce the requirement to conduct a physical count of property on hand for each piece of APS equipment,” Esper wrote.

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Esper has so far released 19 “readiness and lethality” memos since April. Some have targeted mandatory training, while others have simplified administrative processes.

A Nov. 5 memo made these changes to logistics tasks:

“Commanders have full authority to exercise individual discretion to simplify, reduce, or eliminate requirements as outlined in this paragraph,” he wrote.

And on Nov. 28, another memo eliminated some training on human immunodeficiency virus, health policy, law enforcement and arms/ammunition/explosive security.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.