After a lengthy illness or injury, conducting a wellness fitness test before diving back into your usual routine is important. When I recently experienced an upper respiratory infection that turned into bronchitis, I learned the hard way that pushing myself too soon only led to further downtime and more antibiotics. After a few days of rest and relative inactivity, I realized it was time to test my flexibility, mobility, cardio function, strength and muscle stamina before picking up where I left off.

The workout starts like a mobility day: Repeat five times.

• Easy cardio 5 minutes
• Stretch, roll, massage 5 minutes

However, instead of repeating the “stretch, roll, and massage 5 minutes” each set of the routine, you replace the mobility/flexibility exercises with a series of calisthenics or lightweight lifting movements to check joint stiffness and muscle weakness.

You may want to do 2-3 sets above before performing the following movements to test your overall wellness. This is a good warm-up for any workout, regardless of illness or injury, but it is effective if coming back from a lengthy absence.

Next, warm up with an easy cardio session and some stretching, such as biking or walking for 10-15 minutes. Gradually increase the intensity, adding calisthenics first, then working in a few lightweight weightlifting exercises to assess the effects on your joints and muscles. A light jog and some additional weightlifting will further test your cardio and strength.

For example:

• Bike or elliptical machine 5 minutes (assess heart rate, breathing rate, coughing)
• Do 5 minutes of upper-body work: push-ups, pull-ups, dumbbell curls, overhead presses, rows and dips for 5-10 repetitions of each.

The goal is to assess how your heart rate and breathing handle cardio activity. Does a certain heart rate cause you to cough or hurt your knees, back or shoulders? If not, continue. If so, consider doing the stretching portion of mobility day instead and just walking for cardio to keep the heart rate down.

Here’s a lower-body set example:

• Bike, walk, or other 5 minutes (keep the heart rate down if needed; otherwise, push it)
• Work 5 minutes of the lower body: squats, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, leg presses, walking stairs, deadlift with light weights, etc.

The goal is to assess how you can push the cardio (if there are no lung issues) and how your leg muscles and joints handle 5-10 reps of the exercises listed (or add others you prefer). If there is pain, go back to stretching and using massage tools. If not, try another upper- or lower-body set after another five-minute cardio set.

If you want to take the assessment further and have the facilities, do 4-5 sets of the above stretching, upper- and lower-body exercise options. Then finish off with a swim and dynamic stretching in chest-deep water, taking advantage of the buoyancy of the water to work out any lingering stiffness and help boost your flexibility and mobility. This overall assessment should be enough of a workout, as it is just helping to ease you back into your routine, with a better understanding of any areas needing more attention.

Be mindful of persistent congestion or shortness of breath and look for stiffness or soreness that could indicate the need for a slower return to full workouts. Don’t make the mistake of jumping back in at your pre-illness/injury level, which could lead to muscle and joint pain, as well as the potential to worsen lung issues. Take it slow and be prepared for gradual progress; it may take twice as long to return to where you were before.

Key Takeaways

After recovering from illness or injury, consider a wellness fitness test to test your flexibility, mobility, cardio function, strength and muscle stamina. The same model above could be used by those who have not exercised in a very long time and would be considered new to fitness. The key to a successful wellness test is starting slowly and gradually working out any kinks to avoid over-stressing the body.

When it is time to prioritize your health and well-being again, get the information you need to return safely and effectively to exercise by checking out our workout ideas and conducting a wellness fitness exam.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you’re looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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Militaries have long depended on information. Tactical, operational and strategic intelligence is vital to warfare. And there has long been a close relationship between defence and technology. Military innovations during the Second World War – from cracking the German Enigma codes to naval gunnery – drove the developments of the earliest computers.

Defence is undeniably complex. It uses a vast range of equipment and materiel (equipment and supplies of military forces), and the defence sector is a large employer. If anything, the post-Cold War defence landscape is more complex than ever, with the use of reservists, civilian contractors and industry to create what the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) calls the “whole force” concept.

And defence – from the armed forces to the logistics, supply chains and manufacturing that supports it – is moving quickly to make better use of data. By doing so, defence ministries hope to make better use of budgets, speed up decision making, and increase the availability and readiness of their forces.

“Defence is rightly focussed on establishing intelligence systems that provide insights on threats and supply advantage on the battlefield,” says Tim Smail, a digital expert at PA Consulting.

“This means harnessing massive volumes of data from different sources and processing it at speed using hyperscale cloud environments and artificial intelligence. There is enormous opportunity in the application of these skills in enabling functions. And one area in which the opportunity is being pursued is defence support.”

This support is the logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and even recruitment that allows defence to operate on a daily basis, in peacetime as well as during conflicts.

As defence equipment becomes ever more sophisticated, it needs much tighter integration between manufacturers and the armed forces themselves. This includes equipment maintenance and repair (MRO) and upgrades and improvements to equipment during its service life, as well as its ability to gather and share data on the battlefield.

Increasingly, data is the thread that connects all aspects of defence, from the soldier, sailor or aviator on the front line, to logistics, manufacturing, R&D, and recruitment. All new defence systems being developed for NATO and other Western militaries – and, as likely as not, those of rival states – are equipped with sensors and networking.

The MoD talks about “systems of systems”, with equipment working together by sharing data on the battlefield. And hardware such as the F-35, the upcoming Type 26 and Type 31 frigates and even more basic hardware such as armoured vehicles will all undergo “spiral development” during their lifetime, with upgrades added as new technologies emerge.

Many of these new capabilities will be electronic, including sensors, software and data links. In the future, artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to monitor the health of troops, control drones, or help commanders form a clearer tactical picture of events.

Better use of data also promises to Strengthen the armed forces ability to deliver “operational effect”, though greater readiness and better availability of equipment.

“Attitudes to data have changed rapidly over the past 5-10 years and we are not starting at ground zero,” notes Paul Finley, a defence sector expert at PA Consulting.

 “We’ve always used data to run supply chains in ERP systems. But what defence is now pursuing is the value of data as a strategic asset, and we find people are talking about it in these terms. Maybe 10 years ago they wouldn’t. The sector has always recognised the critical importance of mission data, from birth of radar to using real life information to conduct information [warfare].”

The challenge now, he says, is to carry that use of data beyond the the front line, into the day-to-day work of running the defence “business” and to industry.

If you are a member of the National Guard or a military reserve unit and are called to active military duty during a national, state, or local emergency, you will be granted unpaid military leave in accordance with applicable federal and state law. Such leave protects an employee's seniority and right to return to the same or a comparable position. The college provides a military pay differential to eligible employees.

Military Differential Pay

Regular Employees

Military leave is unpaid; however, if you are employed in a regular position of half time or more, you may be eligible for military differential pay for up to 10 work days in a calendar year.  If you work half time or more, you are eligible for prorated differential pay based on the number of hours you are regularly scheduled to work. If military leave exceeds one calendar year, the differential is paid in the first year only.

Military differential pay is available only if you are called to active duty during the period of time you would normally be at work (e.g., if you work an academic-year schedule, you would not be eligible for differential pay for military leave during the summer).

Upon receipt of the appropriate documentation, the college will pay the difference between your regular salary and your military pay for the period of required active duty up to a maximum of 10 work days, provided that your military pay is less than your regular college pay for the work days missed. For the purpose of calculating differential pay, military pay includes base pay and allowances for subsistence, quarters, and travel (unless the allowances are offset by out-of-pocket expenses).

You are not entitled to back pay during military leave, but upon your return your salary will reflect any salary increases you would have received had you not been called to active duty.  

To request military differential pay, submit to the office of Human Resources your military pay voucher which verifies the dates you were on active duty and which includes a detailed breakdown of military pay and allowances.

Limited-Term Employees

If you hold a limited-term position which exceeds three years, you are entitled to military differential pay on the same terms and conditions as employees holding regular positions. If you hold a limited-term position of from one to three years, you are not eligible for military differential pay.

Temporary Employees

If you work less than half time, or hold a temporary position, you are not eligible for military differential pay.

Terms and Conditions

If you are called to active military duty during a national, state, or local emergency you will be granted military leave.  Upon separation from active duty, you will normally be returned to your former position or to a comparable position, subject to the provisions and limitations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Effect of Military Leave on Paid Time Off and Benefits

Paid Time Off

Time off for military leave will not be charged against your vacation time or personal days. However, you may elect to use vacation and/or personal time for this purpose.

While on military leave, you continue to earn personal time. Vacation and sick leave accruals continue during the first 12 weeks of military leave for those staff who are eligible to receive military differential pay. However, vacation and sick leave do not accrue during any combination of paid and/or unpaid leave which exceeds 12 consecutive weeks. Upon your return to work, vacation and sick leave accruals will resume as if there had been no interruption in service.

You are not entitled to holiday pay, recess pay, jury duty leave, bereavement leave, or any other paid leave while you are on unpaid military leave.

Benefits

You may continue to participate in the college's benefit plans during military leave (NOTE: Some benefit plans have contractual exclusions for some injuries or illnesses which result from military service. If there is any discrepancy or conflict between the plan documents and the information presented here, the plan documents will govern.) The college will continue its premium contribution toward your coverage for health, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance for up to 12 weeks, and you will be billed for your share of the premiums. Retirement contributions are not made during unpaid military leave (except on differential pay) and tuition benefits are normally not available.

After 12 weeks you may retain membership in the college's group health, dental, life, and LTD insurance plans, but the college will discontinue its contributions and you must assume the full cost.

Procedures

If you have advance notice of orders to report to active duty, you are required to inform your supervisor and department head and to request a military leave if appropriate.  However, the law does not require that notice be provided in instances where the orders for active duty cannot be issued in advance. You must provide a copy of your orders to your supervisor and to the Office of Human Resources as soon as possible.  

In the case of exempt staff, supervisors must notify the Office of Human Resources and forward the military orders immediately so pay can be withheld for the exact dates the employee will be on unpaid military leave.

In the case of non-exempt staff, supervisors should identify unpaid military leave and the number of hours the employee was regularly scheduled to work on each work day missed on the biweekly time sheets.

Upon completion of active duty, staff members who are eligible for military differential pay should submit the military pay voucher which verifies the dates and times of military reserve training and the detailed breakdown of military pay and allowances to the Office of Human Resources.

The Israeli government had determined that the loosely organized civilian guard, known as Kitat Konnenut, would serve as the first line of defense in the towns and villages near the border. But the guardsmen had different standards of training depending on who was in charge. For years, they warned that some of their units were poorly trained and underequipped, according to two Israeli military officials with direct knowledge of the volunteer teams.

Additionally, the Israeli military reservists were not prepared to quickly mobilize and deploy. Some described heading south on their own initiative.

Davidi Ben Zion, 38, a major in the reserves, said reservists never trained to respond at a moment’s notice to an invasion. The training assumed that Israeli intelligence would learn of a looming invasion in advance, giving reservists time to prepare to deploy.

“The procedure states that we have the battalion ready for combat in 24 hours,” he said. “There’s a checklist to authorize the distribution of everything. We practiced this for many years.”

Hamas capitalized on these errors in ways that further delayed the Israeli response. Terrorists blocked key highway intersections, leaving soldiers bogged down in firefights as they tried to enter besieged towns. And the Hamas siege on the military base in southern Israel crippled the regional command post, paralyzing the military response.

Much remains unknown about that day, including what orders were given inside Israel’s senior military leadership in Tel Aviv, and when. The Times investigation builds on and adds new details to aggressive coverage in the Israeli media of the military response.

Officers and reservists who headed south that morning, whether under orders or on their own, soon learned of the chaos that they were entering.

Gen. Barak Hiram, who was scheduled to soon take over command of a division along the Gaza border, drove south to see firsthand how the soldiers there responded to what seemed like a routine Hamas attack.

In an interview, he recalled the text messages he received from soldiers he knew in the region.

“Come save us.”

“Send the army, quickly, they are killing us.”

“Sorry we’re turning to you, we’re already out of weapons.”

Commando units were among the first to mobilize that morning. Some said they rushed into the fight after receiving messages pleading for help or learning about the infiltrations from social media.

Other units were on standby and received formal activation orders.

The small size of the teams suggested that commanders fundamentally misunderstood the threat. Troops rolled out with pistols and assault rifles, enough to face a band of hostage-taking terrorists, but not to go into full-scale battle.

Previously undisclosed documents reviewed by The Times show just how drastically the military misread the situation. Records from early in the day show that, even during the attack, the military still assessed that Hamas, at best, would be able to breach Israel’s border fence in just a few places. A separate intelligence document, prepared weeks later, shows that Hamas teams actually breached the fence in more than 30 locations and quickly moved deep into southern Israel.

Hamas fighters poured into Israel with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, land mines and more. They were prepared to fight for days. Israeli commandos apparently believed they would be fighting for just hours; one said he set out that morning without his night-vision goggles.

“The terrorists had a distinct tactical advantage in firepower,” said Yair Ansbacher, 40, a reservist in a counterterrorism unit who fought on Oct. 7. He and his colleagues mainly used pistols, assault rifles and sometimes sniper rifles, he said.

The situation was so dire that at 9 a.m., the head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, issued a rare order. He told all combat-trained, weapons-carrying employees to go south. Shin Bet does not normally activate with the military. Ten Shin Bet operatives were killed that day.

Making matters worse, the military has acknowledged that it moved two commando companies — more than 100 soldiers — to the West Bank just two days before the attack, a reflection of Israel’s mistaken belief that a Hamas attack was not an imminent threat.

That left three infantry battalions and one tank battalion along Gaza’s border. But Oct. 7 was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, and the Sabbath. One senior military officer estimated that about half the 1,500 soldiers in the area were away. He said that another infantry battalion had been reassigned years earlier after Israel finished building a security wall around Gaza.

Whether Hamas knew that the military was understaffed is unclear, but it had fatal consequences. When the attacks began, many soldiers were fighting for their lives instead of protecting residents nearby. Hamas stormed one base, Nahal Oz, forcing soldiers to abandon it and leave behind dead friends.

And just as the civilian volunteers had warned, the first line of defense inside Israel was quickly overwhelmed. Some units barely had enough weapons for an hourslong battle, officials said.

Hamas also worked strategically to weaken Israel’s advantage in firepower. Terrorists targeted Israeli tanks, hitting several of them, said Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, the commander of the armored corps. Tanks ran out of ammunition, leaving crews to fight with ground soldiers.

In another instance widely covered in the Israeli media, Hamas fired on an Israeli helicopter, forcing it down near Gaza. The paratroopers escaped injury before the helicopter burst into flames.

All of this should have been a clear sign that Israel was under broad attack, facing a dire situation.

But Hamas made another strategic strike that morning that all but blinded Israel’s military at a critical moment.

National Testing Agency (NTA) has started online registration process for the Military Nursing Service Examination: Selection for Short Service Commission (SSC) 2023-24 under the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS). Eligible and interested female candidates can apply for it on the website exams.nta.ac.in/SSCMNS/

The application deadline is 6 pm, December 26.

The examination will be held on January 14. Admit cards will be issued in the first week of January.

This will be a Computer Based Test (CBT) in which candidates have to answer multiple-choice questions (MCQs) based on Nursing, English Language and General Intelligence. The test will be in English only and there is no negative marking. The duration of the test is 150 minutes. The paper timing will be from 10 am to 12:30 pm.

The candidate should be between 21 and 35 years of age on the application deadline to be eligible for the exam.

Candidates can check eligibility, scheme of exam, test centers, test timings, test fee, procedure for applying etc. on the information bulletin.

National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced that it will conduct the examination for the Military Nursing Service: Selection for Short Service Commission (SSC) 2023-24 under the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS).

Only female candidates can apply for it.

The examination will be held as a Computer Based Test (CBT) on January 14, 2024. The application window will open on December 11 and close on December 26 and admit cards will be issued in the first week of January.

To apply for the exam, the candidate should be between 21 and 35 years of age on the application deadline.

The CBT will consist of MCQ’s based on Nursing, English Language and General Intelligence. The test will be in English and there is no negative marking.

The CBT will be in English only. There will be no negative marking.

The computer based test will have a duration of 150 minutes. The paper timing will be from 10 am to 12:30 pm.

Information about eligibility, scheme of exam, test centers, test timings, test fee, procedure for applying etc. are available on the information bulletin hosted on the website.

“Candidates who are desirous of applying for the test may go through the Information Bulletin and apply online at https://exams.nta.ac.in/SSCMNS only during the period from 11 December 2023 to 26 December 2023 and also pay the applicable fee, online, through the payment gateway using debit/creditcards, net banking and UPI,” NTA said.

Click here for more details.

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