The U.S. Army is phasing out athletic trainers by the end of the current fiscal year, Gen. James Mingus, the service's vice chief of staff, said in a recent announcement, reports Military.com.
The Army will expand its crew of strength and conditioning coaches to make up for the loss.
The 180 civilian trainers throughout the service emphasized conditioning to prevent injuries and help with recovery and mental health.
A reason for eliminating that part of the Army's Holistic Health and Fitness program had to do with the budget.
One athletic trainer slammed the move.
"We are a force multiplier when it comes to getting health care to the unit," the person told Military.com on the condition of anonymity, being unauthorized to talk to the media.
"Soldiers will be out of training for longer periods of time, and we'll see more buildup in chronic conditions."
Added an active-duty Army command sergeant major:
"This is a key asset for my soldiers. We train hard, and with tha ... soldiers get injured, and we need them to recover and get back into the fight, but more importantly — we don't want these small field injuries turning into big problems later in their lives."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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