By: Chris Cheng

FORT HOOD With the draw down of troops on the horizon, Fort Hood said it is now looking at personal health and fitness in which soldiers they keep.

Going forward a soldier's weight and physical fitness will play a larger role when it comes to re-enlisting and getting promotions.

"It will be a discriminator and it will be a discriminator on who get promoted faster and for re-enlistment of soldiers," Col. Melissa Sturgeon said.

Col. Sturgeon is in charge of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Training Facility, which is a campus that houses a gym, wellness center, nutrition center, and a spiritual fitness center.

"Right now the army is looking for fit individuals, physically fit individuals but also mentally fit individuals, spiritually strong individuals and great leaders," Col. Sturgeon said.

The colonel said she has seen more soldiers coming to Fort Hood's nine gyms and exercising around post to get into better shape but knows how hard it can be due to the temptation of fast food and junk food.

"Sometimes soldiers feel like they have to make up for lost time and sometimes they take advantage of the access of fast food places and things like that," Col. Sturgeon said.

1St LT. Larry McNamara competes in several soldier competition and believes every soldier should be ready, physically, to deploy at any moment.

"It's extremely important. I don't know of many jobs where it is your job to be fit, there are so many day to day tasks that require you to by physically agile," McNamara said.

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Soldiers work out to stay in army