FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS -- Fort Leavenworth recently completed Phase I of an initiative to implement the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program (CSF) by installing new functional fitness equipment in its Harney gym.

Phase II of the project to expand functional fitness capabilities at Fort Leavenworth includes the construction of an 87,000-square-foot facility to permanently house the new equipment. Construction for that facility already is under way.

Phase III of the project, which has yet to be finalized, according to Col. Wayne Green, Garrison commander, includes expanding the Harney gym by 20,000 square feet to accommodate the influx of soldiers at Fort Leavenworth.

At the ceremony to dedicate the new equipment, Tom Weafer, program manager for the CSF program at Fort Leavenworth, explained that the new functional fitness equipment would help soldiers and their families improve more than just their physical health.

“Functional fitness goes beyond the expected physical domain,” he said. “It affects the social domain through team workouts and the emotional dimension by building tenacity toward a disciplined approach to fitness.”

Some $40,000 worth of equipment was installed during Phase I of the project, including $4,000 worth of gear donated by Operation Phoenix, a nonprofit group affiliated with CrossFit that donates funds to outfit the U.S. military with functional fitness equipment. The Operation Phoenix donation included free-standing, custom pull-up bars, medicine balls, kettlebells, barbells and a rowing machine. The Army also installed new flooring to accommodate the equipment.

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