Innovative Approaches for Evaluating Physical Fitness of Servicemen in the System of Professional Training

IntroductionThe practice of physical readiness testing is characterized by the confrontation between the method of control exercises selection and the determining ways of individual and total assessment. The need of systematization and transformation of the majority of control exercises in the practical use for selecting the appropriate assessment criteria requires adjustments in the system of governing documents for physical training.One of the main problems of Military Forces of Ukraine for today is the reformation of training and education process of cadets who are the future officers of this country. Supplying of military elements with sophisticated equipment, its improvement, the necessity of permanent support of military readiness require the careful improvement of combat training. Modern warfare, which are currently under way, increase the value of professionally important qualities of each officer.The use of physical exercises for improvement of military-professional readiness of soldiers has begun long time ago as historical experience for combat training shows. In spite of the changes of weapons, military equipment, methods and tactics of warfare the value of physical qualities of soldiers for the successful combat activities steadily increased requiring specific differentiation as preceding studies show [1, 2, 5].The most important function of monitoring is to evaluate the degree of compliance with the requirements for professional education results of military specialists. The test and evaluation system of physical readiness of soldiers took complicated historical way of its development. Each stage of its development has got different concepts for the selection of control exercises and establishing the evaluation standards for the system of physical training [6, 7].However, it does not offer the possibility to determine the level of physical skills and motor activities, to evaluate it in terms of objectives, to make necessary adjustments in the means and methods of physical training at any stage of the process. Therefore, the theory of physical qualities' transfer should be the leading concept of test and evaluation system of physical readiness of military personnel. It shows positive impact of certain physical qualities to workability in the conditions of warfare.During the reformation of Military Forces of Ukraine there is an opportunity to refuse the old methods of verification and assessment of physical readiness and to implement the most effective ways of evaluation and verification of the soldiers of Military Forces of Ukraine. Thus the search results allow us to insist on the necessity of development of programs, standards and tests for the Army, which would determine the degree of basic physical qualities of military personnel of various specialties and the degree of their workability according to the chosen specialty [4].Materials and methodsAccording to the requirements of the General Staff of the Military Forces of Ukraine and under the way of improvement and intensification of special physical training of troops we have developed new exercises (Table 1), which are closely related to the actions and movements of troops during combat missions (including head-to-head techniques and obstacles overcoming). From September 2014 to April 2015 at the National ArmyAcademy we have conducted the testing of elaborated standards of physical readiness with the usage of personal protective equipment ("Corsar"-type body armor and metal or Kevlar helmet) and weapon. During the study analysis methods, questionnaires, interviews and statistical processing were used. Testing was carried out during the scheduled classes on physical training, sports activities, and accompanying physical training in the combination with other items of combat (professional) training. This study involved 698 cadets of the Faculties of Combat Arms, Rocket and Gun Artillery, Combined Arms, and Military Engineering and CBRN Defense. …