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The ability to run three miles is a start but hardly enough. In AIT 5 miles is a standard run and you will run further. Don't worry if you are out of shape, after boot camp, you won't be. If you are a Marine, an Infantry man or a Navy corpsman; you will then go to advanced infantry training(ait) after that you will have little trouble running 3 miles or 5 miles; assuming you are healthy of course. So what does running three miles have to do with the military? Nothing if you are lucky enough to avoid deployment over-seas; everything if you aren't!
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I assume you mean after bootcamp a Marine with an infantry contract will go to SOI (School of Infantry)? They won't let you out of bootcamp if you can't pass a PFT so you really shouldn't be out of shape. Also, PT runs are few and far between in SOI. You simply don't have much time for it. It's approximately 2 months long, and I think we ran a total of 7 or 8 times. Is it enough? No. But, there's too many other things going on such as ranges and forced marches.
For the record, I hate running with a passion. I'm not good at it and if I slack for even a bit my time suffers. However, I do understand the need for the 3 mile test. In 2008 or 2009 (right around the new year) I found myself running about 4-5K back to the COP in Iraq. I was doing a mission only a few kilometers out right on the Syrian border. We ended up taking fire from a vehicle when we were on our way back, and the best course of action was to simply get the hell out of there. It wasn't without stopping once or twice to to keep accountability of the patrol and make sure the two civilian contractors were still with us. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of the 3 mile run and enjoy the CFT much more then the PFT. Having the ability to run 3 miles though definitely helped that night in Iraq.
I saw earlier someone mentioned a female Sgt 1st Class and that combined with the talk of marches reminded me of why I hate the battalion I am in. We were going to do a SHORT hump with the battalion, maybe 6-7 miles at most. A female LCpl complained to her MstSgt that she was too short to carry her M16A2 and wanted a M4. Unfortantely she got it. Then, a female 1stSgt complained that she as well was too short so needless to say she got an M4. I often wonder how they got through bootcamp where the standard issue is an M16A2. Sorry to go off track with that, but at least it's firearms and PT related
-Max