New policy allows civilians free use of fitness centers

''By making this change, I think we are fulfilling and bridging the one team concept between military members and civilians working on military installations. I think if we can also reduce health care costs associated with heart disease and other illnesses for civilians that ultimately become an expense to the Department of the Navy such as lost work hours, we are helping big Navy overall,'' said NAS Jax MWR Director John Bushick.

According to Bushick, the change is not expected to cause a huge impact on the fitness center here. ''The policy does not give preference to DoD civilians. Active duty military personnel will still have priority use of the facilities. The installation commanding officer has the direction to adjust hours of the facilities if it impacts the military members use of the facilities,'' explained Bushick.

''We are not expecting a huge increase in our number of patrons. We may have a spike at the beginning when this is implemented just like when people make their New Year's resolutions, but it'll taper off after a couple months.''

NAS Jax Fitness Center Recreation Aide Carissa Butz tells patron Rex Gilpin of Naval Aviation Depot Jax, about the new policy allowing Department of Defense employees and their families to work out free at base fitness centers starting Nov. 1.

Currently, civilian use of the facility here brings in about $45,000 annually. ''Yes, we'll loose this revenue and this funding issue is currently being ad-dressed by Commander, Navy Installations Com-mand,'' Bushick said. ''The MWR Fitness Program which includes intramural sports, swimming and the fitness facilities is designated as a core program for MWR and is funded first. Funding may have to be pulled from other programs that are now receiving appropriated funds to support core programs.''

Another issue, currently being addressed is physical security access to the base for DoD civilians, their families and guests. ''We are working on this issue. Of course, DoD employees don't have a problem getting on base, but we need to figure out a way to get their families and guests through the gates,'' added Bushick. ''MWR does sponsor a six-month vehicle decal to retired DoD civilians to come on base and use our facilities, but it's only for the vehicle of the retiree.''

Another big change at the NAS Jax Fitness Source is a reduction of classes, although according to Bushick, it's not due to the policy change. ''We are required to provide 15 classes a week and were offering 38. We've reduced the classes to 25 each week. The classes that were eliminated had low participation rates,'' said Bushick.

''This change will enable us to meet another DoD standard that we are a little weak in. We need to have more certified fitness leaders on the floor when people are exercising. The money saved from reducing the classes will help fund putting the fitness leaders out on the floor so we can increase our compliance of meeting these standards. Those instructors who had their classes reduced are being offered the opportunity to become certified fitness leaders.''

The fitness center is also being upgraded with new exercise equipment. ''We recently received some end-of-the-year funding and have purchased about $200,000 in new equipment including treadmills, cross trainers, bikes and a new tread climber,'' said MWR Athletic Director Tim McKinney. ''We were also able to purchase some new sunshades for the outside pool for next year's season.''

Fitness Instructor Wendy Tappen teaches a yogalates class at the NAS Jax Fitness Center.

The two base swimming pools also fall under the MWR Fitness Program. ''This includes the outdoor recreational pool which now qualifies as a support core program. The good news is that next year, the outdoor pool will operate as normal and civilians will be able to use it. There is a minimal charge for patrons to use the outdoor pool. The indoor pool is free for lap swimming and aqua aerobic classes,'' continued Bushick.

In the near future, a new tracking system will be implemented at the base gym so patrons of both the fitness center and gym will just swipe a card to use the facilities. ''It will better help us track how many people use our facilities,'' said Bushick.

Changes have also been made to the sports programs on base. ''This year, we decided to include DoD civilians in our Captain's Cup program so we are one step ahead. We were getting requests from different units because they were having problems trying to maintain their identity in the sports program. They were loosing military members and without including civilians, wouldn't be able to participate. It really made sense to include them,'' said NAS Jax Sports Coordinator Bill Bonser. ''We are also improving some of the areas we use for sporting events. The softball fields are currently getting new fences, dugouts and a new concession area. The football and soccer fields will soon have an irrigation system to increase the quality of the turf and we recently purchases some reflective jogging belts for our patrons to use.''

The base fitness center is open Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The base gym is open Monday through Friday 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Patrons are allowed to bring two guests over the age of 10. The cost for guests at the fitness center is $3 a day. For more information, call the fitness center at 542-3518 or the base gym at 542-3239.