WSMR Public Affairs

White Sands Missile Range employees are now able to do something more for their health by enrolling in the Army Civilian Fitness and Health Promotion Program.

 Army Civilian Fitness and Health Promotion Program

White Sands Missile Range Army Test and Evaluation Command employees are now able to do something more for their health by enrolling in the Army Civilian Fitness and Health Promotion Program.

The goal of the program is to enhance the health and fitness of Department of the Army Civilians while increasing organizational wellness and mission productivity.

The program is open to ATEC DAC and physical fitness activities must target improving fitness level or body conditioning.

The Army Test and Evaluation Command pilot program implementation went into effect Oct. 11, 2021 with a one-year conditional participation period and a six-month observation period to allow commanders to evaluate the program’s feasibility and assess the effect of participation in the program on work productivity.

Employees are authorized up to 3 hours of administrative leave per week in daily increments of no less than 30 minutes and no greater than 60 minutes to participate in the physical fitness and health education promotion events. Employees must also complete a Participation Agreement and have it approved and signed by their supervisor. Participation Agreements were emailed to employees last month. They are also available from supervisors or by contacting Program Manager Jason Lowery at jason.d.lowery.civ@mail.mil.

Also, participants must report to work before starting and after completing their physical or health promotion activity. Authorized time includes travel, fitness/health promotion activity, clean-up and return to duty. Fitness periods may be combined with regularly scheduled lunch periods with supervisory approval.

Authorization of up to 3 hours is mission dependent and your immediate supervisor retains approval for deviation to fitness schedule.

Participants are also responsible for requesting advance approval for any schedule deviation and are not authorized to accumulate, combine, or carry-over physical fitness or health promotion activity periods.

Employees are encouraged, to maximum extent possible, to use on-site facilities or conduct fitness activity on the installation, i.e. walking, running, biking, etc.

Employees should note that participation in the program is not an entitlement and is subject to approval by immediate supervisors and the employee’s performance and conduct must remain in good standing in order to retain approval to participate in the program.

Also, employees serving on a performance improvement plan, who are subject to leave restrictions, or who have been formally disciplined within the previous year are ineligible to participate in the program.

Supervisors are responsible retaining, approving and signing participation agreements. Leave must be coded as Administrative Leave LNPF Type Hour Code LN with Environmental/Hazard/Other Code PF and identified Internal Order 12000068 in ATAAPS.

Employees are not authorized to work unscheduled/unplanned over time or comp time to address unmet work requirements nor undocumented time to make-up for participating in the physical fitness or health promotion activities.