Air Force officer dies during fitness test

MANILA, Philippines—An Air Force military officer died while undergoing regular physical fitness test at Camp Aguinaldo Thursday morning, the military said.

The officer, identified by the Office of the Special Service, the unit which conducts the PFT, as Colonel Richard Parcon, 54, assistant from the Office of the Adjudant General. He fell unconscious a few meters from the finish line of the two-mile run at about 6:30 a.m., said military spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos.

He was immediately hooked to oxygen and was given an immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before he was brought to Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo Station Hospital.

However, after 45 minutes of continuous resuscitation to no avail, the patient was brought to V. Luna Medical Center at about 8 a.m., but was later declared dead.

Parcon was said to have complained of discomfort on his knees during the first part of the run, that is why he was said to have preferred walking while an ambulance tailed him.

The PFT was given to 10 officers at the Camp Aguinaldo Grandstand.

For his age bracket, passing the physical fitness test must require at least 22 push up and 26 situps for two minutes each, then it will be followed by a two-mile run within 25 minutes and 29 seconds or less.

Before taking the PFT, his blood pressure read at 130/80 and did not have any complaints, records from the Nurse Corps showed.